Little Caesars Love Kitchen Marks 25th Anniversary with Return to Detroit

DETROIT, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Little Caesars Love Kitchen will once again return to its hometown to provide meals for people in need at the Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS) November 9. Little Caesars President & CEO David Scrivano and best-selling author, columnist, and radio and television commentator Mitch Albom will participate in the feeding.

"Little Caesars has always been committed to helping our local communities. For 25 years, we have been providing hot, fresh pizza meals to people who may otherwise go hungry," said Scrivano. "The Love Kitchen has fed over two million people over the last 25 years and we look forward to continuing to do our part to help people in their time of need."

Established in 1985, the Little Caesars Love Kitchen is a big-rig pizza kitchen on wheels. It travels across the continental United States and Canada meeting the needs of the hungry, the homeless and disaster victims.

The Little Caesars Love Kitchen has fed people in 48 states and four Canadian provinces. It has also responded to disasters such as the recent floods in North Dakota and Iowa, the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast Area in 2008 and 2005, the site of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, and the 1995 Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. Established by Little Caesars in 1985, the Love Kitchen exemplifies Little Caesars strong tradition of giving back to America's communities.

"I'm honored Little Caesars has asked me to join in the celebration of its 25th anniversary by participating in this much needed community event.  Feeding those in need has long been an important issue to me in my own charity work, particularly for the homeless in Detroit.  It's important that we work together to wipe out hunger, and the Little Caesars Love Kitchen is making enormous strides in that direction.  I look forward to working with the good people of Little Caesars November 9 at COTS," said Albom.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush awarded The President's Volunteer Action Award Citation to Little Caesars for its volunteers' contributions to the Love Kitchen.  Little Caesars also received a Presidential Citation for Private Sector Initiatives for the Love Kitchen program under the Reagan administration.  It has received a certificate of appreciation from the State of Michigan and has been recognized by the Detroit City Council for its efforts.  

Local Little Caesars franchise owners and company regional offices donate all food and labor for the Love Kitchen servings. An estimated 50,000 Little Caesars franchise owners and employees have volunteered their time over the years to support the program in their local communities.

"A hot pizza meal can really make a difference for people, and I'm proud to be a part of a company that believes so strongly in supporting its communities, especially right here in the Motor City where the Love Kitchen started," said David Fox, driver of the Little Caesars Love Kitchen.

Little Caesars' commitment to giving back is shared by other Ilitch companies and Ilitch Charities. In 2006, Ilitch Charities donated $50,000 to COTS to help build its infant daycare center. Ilitch Charities is a non-profit organization that invests in our community's future by supporting innovative, collaborative and measurable programs in the areas of community development, human services, education and recreation through contributions from the Ilitch companies, their colleagues and the generosity of others.

About Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc.

Little Caesars Pizza founders Michael and Marian Ilitch opened their first restaurant in Garden City, Michigan, in 1959. Little Caesars, the fastest growing pizza chain, built more stores in the world in 2009 than any other pizza brand and today is the largest carry-out chain globally with restaurants on five continents. Little Caesars is growing in prime markets across the country, and is offering strong franchisee candidates an opportunity for independence with a proven system. For the third year in a row, Little Caesars was named "Best Value in America"* of all quick-serve restaurant chains. In addition, Little Caesars offers strong brand awareness with one of the most recognized and appealing characters in the country, Little Caesar.

In addition to Little Caesars Pizza, Michael and Marian Ilitch's companies in the food, sports and entertainment industries include: the Detroit Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, Ilitch Holdings, Inc., Uptown Entertainment, Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, and a variety of venues within these entities. Michael Ilitch owns the Detroit Tigers. Marian Ilitch owns MotorCity Casino Hotel.

For more information about Little Caesars Pizza and available franchise opportunities, visit www.LittleCaesars.com or call 1.800.553.5776.

* "Highest-Rated Chain – Value for the Money" based on a nationwide survey of quick-service restaurant consumers conducted by Sandelman & Associates, 2009

SOURCE Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc.