Remember the tale of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare? There’s a lesson to be learned there for any big Fast Food chain. While some Big Name pizza chains close stores, a competitor is expanding like never before…
Little Caesar’s new Elev8 store design includes heated self-serve pick-up portals
and self-serve drink coolers along with their classic counter service option…
You probably wouldn’t have guessed it… But Little Caesar’s has taken over first place in the US with more locations than any of its other, bigger competitors…
Slow and steady…
The old maxim, ‘Slow and Steady Wins the Race’ couldn’t be more true in the case of the ongoing struggle for dominance in the Pizza chain sector.
And you’d naturally assume Pizza Hut, Domino’s or Papa John’s was the hottest domestic market performer. But it’s ‘none of the above’. It’s feisty little Little Caesar’s.
What’s the story?
While competitors have been crying distress – closing, relocating and revamping locations – Little Caesar’s has been soldiering along in the background, quietly expanding its empire. According to a report in QSR magazine, Caesar’s opened 43 new locations in 2023, 69 in 2024 and more than 100 in 2025.
And LC’s has also joined the ‘resto of the future’ push. It’s new Elev8 store design is, “an updated, fresh version of Little Caesar’s, really focusing on family, food, fun, and pizza,” according to Basil Kazepis, National VP, Development, Franchising, and Construction.
The chain is also developing a pre-fab modular ‘pod’ type building that can be made elsewhere and transported to a new resto location, assembled, and ‘plugged-in’, opening in record time.
“Nontraditional growth will be crucial too, like [at] colleges, military bases, casinos, and transit hubs,” QSR reports. “In January, [2024], Little Caesars announced it opened at Pearl Harbor, where founder Mike Ilitch served in the military.”
How’d they do it?
Short story even shorter, they’ve kept it simple. And they like to award franchises to folks who have experience in the Fast Food Sector. Which means new owner/operators are more likely to succeed than franchisees with lots of money but no experience.
“A new Little Caesar’s franchisee already has some sort of QSR experience at the end of the day,” says Kazepis. “While our system, from an operational perspective, is one of the less complex ones, it’s still a restaurant, and we like to see folks that have that experience.”
“Ideally, the franchisee will […] also some development experience. So they’re able to wear both of those hats where they know how to […] find real estate, execute a development agreement.”
Leveraging ‘disruption’
Little Caesar’s has also cultivated a reputation for disrupting the industry in which it thrives. That includes its famous ‘Pizza! Pizza!’ slogan, which consolidated LC’s image as a brand that believes Pizza should be ready when you want it. Thus followed the relatively recent ‘Hot and Ready’ protocol, mak-ing certain popular pies available immediately to fans. And now, even that concept is evolving into new heated, self-service pickup Pizza Portal stations where customers who’ve ordered ahead by app or via the website can literally enter a security code, grab their favourite pie and go.
On the delivery front, LC’s is working with Coco Robotics on a robot delivery system. And it’s started experimenting with Drone deliveries.
My take
Little Caesar’s is coming up – perhaps unnoticed by the competition – on the inside, heading for the wire. Perhaps the big guys should take a closer look at LC’s focus on the food and the customers… And its fundamentally ‘disruptive’ nature…
~ Maggie J.