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'''Little Caesars''' (spelled "Little Caesar's" in the newspapers) is the Detroit pizza chain of "Pizza! Pizza!". A Madison-area franchisee ran it here from 1982 until July 1996, when all six stores shut overnight. The chain came back in 2004.

==History==
* 1982: a family from Sun Prairie opens the first Madison franchise on Cottage Grove Road<ref name="ct-1996-09-12-p3">Ivey, M. (1996, September 12). "Franchisee sues Little Caesar's." ''The Capital Times''. p. 3. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522283167/ 522283167].</ref>.
* April 1983: coupons for two locations, 4664 Cottage Grove Rd. in the Rolling Meadows Shopping Center, next to Sentry Foods, and 815 W. Main St. in Sun Prairie<ref name="ct-1983-04-13-p51">(1983, April 13). Little Caesars coupon advertisement, two locations. ''The Capital Times''. p. 51. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/521381493/ 521381493].</ref>.
* November 1995: an advertisement lists six stores: 4664 Cottage Grove Rd., Raymond Road at McKenna, the Fitchburg Ridge Shopping Center, the "Campus" store at [[1614 Monroe Street|1614 Monroe St.]] across from Camp Randall, University Avenue at Park Street in Middleton, and Sun Prairie<ref name="wsj-1995-11-26-p145">(1995, November 26). Little Caesars stuffed-crust advertisement listing six stores. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 145. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/397344903/ 397344903].</ref>.
* January 1996: a separate "Little Caesars Pizza Station" is hiring inside the Kmart at 3801 E. Washington Ave.<ref name="wsj-1996-01-27-p31">(1996, January 27). Help-wanted advertisement: management positions, Little Caesars Pizza Station at Kmart, 3801 E. Washington Ave. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 31. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/397382278/ 397382278].</ref>
* July 23–24, 1996: all six stores close. Employees arrived on the Thursday morning to find them shut; at least 60 people lost their jobs, with paychecks unpaid<ref name="wsj-1996-07-30-p16">Hawkins, L. (1996, July 30). "Little Caesar's closes." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 16. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/398441433/ 398441433].</ref>. The state's Labor Standards Bureau opened an inquiry under the plant-closing law<ref name="ct-1996-07-30-p19">Ivey, M. (1996, July 30). "Pizza! Pizza! is no more, no more." ''The Capital Times''. p. 19. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522241431/ 522241431].</ref>. The company said the local owners had closed "without our permission"; the owners, through their lawyer, said the company had cut off their food supplies while they were trying to sell the stores<ref name="ct-1996-09-12-p3" />. The closed stores were at 4664 Cottage Grove Rd., 3042 Fish Hatchery Rd., 6714 Raymond Rd., 1614 Monroe St., 6925 University Ave. in Middleton and 815 Main St. in Sun Prairie<ref name="wsj-1996-07-30-p16" />.
* September 11, 1996: the franchisee, Walls Michigan Food Service Inc., sues Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. in Dane County Circuit Court for ending the franchises without 90 days' notice<ref name="ct-1996-09-12-p3" /><ref name="wsj-1996-09-13-p8">Brixey, E. (1996, September 13). "Food service sues Caesar's." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 8. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406364360/ 406364360].</ref>. The suit is dismissed in January 1997<ref name="wsj-1997-01-15-p8">(1997, January 15). A Dane County judge has dismissed the lawsuit by the owner of six defunct Little Caesar's restaurants. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 8. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/405340156/ 405340156].</ref>.
* February 1997: the only trace of the chain left in Madison is the pizza station in the east-side Kmart<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40">Kalk, S. (1997, February 8). "Papa John's finds niche." ''The Capital Times''. p. 40. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/519930305/ 519930305].</ref>.
* 1999: "Little Caesar's left the Madison market"<ref name="ct-1999-08-06-p2">Richgels, J. (1999, August 6). "Pizza Pit owner: We'll keep rolling." ''The Capital Times''. p. 2. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522655647/ 522655647].</ref>.
* November 3, 2004: a full-page "Coming soon!" ad for 2833 E. Washington Ave., in the Madison East Shopping Center at East Johnson Street, with on-site interviews every afternoon<ref name="wsj-2004-11-03-p44">(2004, November 3). Little Caesars "Coming Soon!" 2833 East Washington & Johnson (Madison East Shopping Center). ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 44. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406586628/ 406586628].</ref>.
* November 18, 2004: the store opens. "Pizza Pizza is back back," the Capital Times wrote, "nearly a decade after it disappeared from Madison." The franchisees, Joe Vancik and Marc Merucci, had 25 years' combined experience on the chain's corporate side training and helping franchisees; Vancik said the 1996 closings were not for lack of interest in the product, that East Washington Avenue was chosen for its traffic, and that "we have plans to develop the entire Madison market"<ref name="ct-2004-11-18-p45">Richgels, J. (2004, November 18). "Little Caesars pizza returns." ''The Capital Times''. p. 45. Newspapers.com images [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522331757/ 522331757], [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522331796/ 522331796].</ref>.
* November 2005: Vancik and Merucci open a second store in the Highland Gates Shopping Center at Gammon and Watts roads, 700 S. Gammon Rd., "almost a decade after" the chain left Madison<ref name="ct-2005-11-08-p36">(2005, November 8). "Little Caesars opens west side pizzeria." ''The Capital Times''. p. 36. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/526270404/ 526270404].</ref><ref name="ct-2005-10-20-p32">(2005, October 20). Little Caesars Pizza "New Store Opening!!" help-wanted ad, Highland Gates Shopping Center, 700 S. Gammon Road. ''The Capital Times''. p. 32. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/525988543/ 525988543].</ref>.

==Trivia==
* In 1996 the chain had about 4,500 franchises. Its sales had grown from $340 million in 1985 to $2.15 billion in 1993, then slipped to $2 billion in 1994<ref name="ct-1996-09-12-p3" />.
* In February 1997 a rival franchisee said Little Caesar's was "known for being cheap"<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40" />.
* The State Journal reported that the closings "also surprised between 70 and 90 of the store's former employees"<ref name="wsj-1996-07-30-p16" />.

==Former Locations==
* 4664 Cottage Grove Rd. (1982 or 1983 – July 1996)
* 815 W. Main St., Sun Prairie (1983 – July 1996); later the Sun Prairie [[Glass Nickel Pizza]]
* 6714 Raymond Rd. (by 1995 – July 1996)
* 3042 Fish Hatchery Rd., Fitchburg (by 1995 – July 1996)
* [[1614 Monroe Street|1614 Monroe St.]] (by 1995 – July 1996)
* 6925 University Ave., Middleton (by 1995 – July 1996)
* 3801 E. Washington Ave., pizza station inside Kmart (1996 – at least 1997)

==Locations==
* 2833 E. Washington Ave. (from November 18, 2004)<ref name="ct-2004-11-18-p45" />
* 700 S. Gammon Rd., Highland Gates Shopping Center (from November 2005)<ref name="ct-2005-11-08-p36" />

==See also==
* [[Item:Q1025|Little Caesars in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]

==Notes==
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