Detroit-area FBGs: the original Little Caesar's Pizza Treat location (1 Viewer)

[Doug B]

Asking about the original Little Caesar's Pizza Treat location in Garden City, MI that opened in 1959. On recent Little Caesars television commercials, they show a photo of the original store signage.

I was intrigued by the "Chicken • Fish • Shrimp" on the sign. What kind of chicken, fish, and shrimp items did they sell back in the day? And how early did they drop everything but pizza?

Do some of you DetroitGuy have childhood memories of dropping by Little Caesar's and getting a basket of chicken strips or fried shrimp or things like that? That photo makes the original store look a cool slice of Americana -- it made me wonder if locals have good memories of the first store.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I’m 40 and I don’t recall them ever having anything other than pizza.  Note:  this wasn’t the original location 

 

[Doug B]

Note:  this wasn’t the original location 

The linked Detroit News article says it was  ... but I'm not a local. Or do you mean the photo is not a photo of the original location?

 

[Dan Lambskin]

The linked Detroit News article says it was  ... but I'm not a local. Or do you mean the photo is not a photo of the original location?

Sorry I meant the LC I used to go to as a kid wasn’t the original location, so it’s possible the original  one was still serving up all that stuff in the 80s, but I only remember it as strictly a pizza chain

my guess is it phased out before that though 

 

[Ilov80s]

I don’t remember chicken and fish, I didn’t start going to LC until the 80s but it was much different than it is now. The had a drive through window, lots of sales of single slices of pizza. The pizza was 100x better. They also had dine-in with salad and soup bar, lots of pasta options. 

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I don’t remember chicken and fish, I didn’t start going to LC until the 80s but it was much different than it is now. The had a drive through window, lots of sales of single slices of pizza. The pizza was 100x better. They also had dine-in with salad and soup bar, lots of pasta options. 

The old single, double, triple and home run

 

[Ilov80s]

The old single, double, triple and home run

Yep. I also remember foot long pizza, crazy bread and the pizza pizza deal

 

[That one guy]

Looking at those original options, kinda surprised they don’t have a hot-n-ready hot dog pizza right now...and I’d probably get one too, since ain’t nothing normal these days!

 

[Doug B]

The old single, double, triple and home run

What were those? We got our first Little Caesar's down here around 1985-86, and those terms are vaguely familiar.

I definitely remember the "Pizza! Pizza!" deal of getting two pizzas in a long, bagged "half-box" -  see pic here, except I don't think our Louisiana bags had pictures of hockey players on them  

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Looking at those original options, kinda surprised they don’t have a hot-n-ready hot dog pizza right now...and I’d probably get one too, since ain’t nothing normal these days!

They will do a coney pizza from time to time

 

[Dan Lambskin]

What were those? We got our first Little Caesar's down here around 1985-86, and those terms are vaguely familiar.

I definitely remember the "Pizza! Pizza!" deal of getting two pizzas in a long, bagged "half-box" -  see pic here, except I don't think our Louisiana bags had pictures of hockey players on them  

It was there single slices

IIRC single was plain cheese

double was pepperoni 

triple was pepperoni and mushroom 

forget what homerun was

i might be off but it was something like that.  I remember it was a pretty decent size and as a kid being able to walk up and get one along with some crazy bread and a pop for like $5

 

[stbugs]

Yep. I also remember foot long pizza, crazy bread and the pizza pizza deal

My friend and I feasted on those in high school. Ridiculously cheap but the crazy bread was awesome and the pizzas were really good too. I’m sure it varied by location but I remember them fondly and this was in CT. 

 

[Keerock]

I don’t remember chicken and fish, I didn’t start going to LC until the 80s but it was much different than it is now. The had a drive through window, lots of sales of single slices of pizza. The pizza was 100x better. They also had dine-in with salad and soup bar, lots of pasta options. 

The old single, double, triple and home run

Big Deal Veal (tm) FTW

 

[Doug B]

Looking at those original options, kinda surprised they don’t have a hot-n-ready hot dog pizza right now...and I’d probably get one too, since ain’t nothing normal these days!

They will do a coney pizza from time to time

LC's was selling them in Comerica Park in 2017 - pic and description here:

The pizza is a Detroit-style square pizza crust with chili for sauce, topped with cheese, mustard, onions, and sliced hot dogs. It will only be available at Comerica Park for now, though representatives from Little Caesars say they aren’t ruling out taking it to a larger audience if it performs well.

Not a bad concept ... gotta have really solid, top-shelf beef hot dogs to really make it work IMHO. No 10-for-a-dollar cheapie Day-Glo pink dye jobs. Could throw a little chopped dill pickle on it, too, to kind of serve as an ersatz relish..