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\\nThe history of Little Caesars is fascinating. I personally have a lot of great memories with Little Caesars. It was the pizza that was at every birthday party growing up and a college staple. I actually had a roommate once eat nothing but Little Caesars and burrito bus for a semester. His body did not appreciate that. However, he taught me things about Little Caesars that have stuck with me to this day. For example, those of you out there who don\\u2019t like Little Caesars likely haven\\u2019t had it with crazy crust. If you\\u2019ve never tried crazy crust you haven\\u2019t lived. Next time you are going past a Little Caesars stop in, get a hot and ready, and ask for the crazy crust. It adds $1 to the cost of the pie, but I promise you will thank me.\\xa0
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\\nThe History of Little Caesars in the Beginning
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\\nMike Ilitch was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1929. He graduated high school and then served 4 years in the marine corps. When he got out of the military, he went back home to Detroit. Mike loved baseball and was actually a decent player. The Detroit tigers offered him $3,000 if he would sign to play baseball for one of their minor league affiliates. This resulted in a 4 year minor league career from 1952-1955. He played second base and short stop for the tigers and also spent time with the Yankees and Washington Senators organizations. He suffered a knee injury that forced him out of playing permanently. 
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\\nIn 1954, Mike Ilitch went on a blind date with Marian Bayoff that was set up by Mike\\u2019s father. After a few short months, they were married. 
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\\nMike loved pizza and during his time playing ball, he\\u2019d sample pizza from local restaurants in towns he visited. At that time, pizza hadn\\u2019t caught on as an accepted dinner food. Mike eventually had plans to change that. However, before he slid headfirst into pizza, he worked for a cement company and sold awnings door to door. He started an awning business with some friends and it started to take off. Eventually they said thanks for the hard work by buying him out of the business. Without a job, Mike turned his attention to what would be his next big thing.
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\\nIn 1959, Mike and Marian invested their entire life savings, which was a total of $10,000, into opening a pizza place in Garden City, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit. They called it \\u201cLittle Caesars Pizza Treat\\u201d. That original location closed in October 2018. 
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\\nWhy Little Caesars?
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\\nHave you ever wondered how they got their name? When they initially opened, Mike wanted to call the place Pizza Treat. However, Marian felt it should be named something more personal. She always called Mike her little Caesar. The name stuck and the couple settled on Little Caesars Pizza Treat.
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\\nWhen they first launched they served pizza as well as hot dogs, chicken shrimp and fish. Mike wasn\\u2019t content with just one location. He took some advice from a Texas oilman who said the best way to make money is to have other people make it for you. With that mantra ringing in his mind, he was eager to begin franchising his concept. 
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\\nJust a few short years after they opened their first location, they sold their first franchise in 1962 in Warren, Michigan. They were then off to the races. They expanded rapidly using the franchise model. In 1967 they opened their first location in Detroit. In 1969 they went international and crossed the border into Canada. 
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\\nDuring the 90s and 2000s, they were found in many Kmart stores. Now that\\u2019s a blast from the past right there. That smell of merchandise from the store blending with pizza. I remember buying many pizzas from the local Kmart. When Kmart had their financial issues, Little Caesars moved on.'