A year after it opened its first regional takeout store in Yonkers, Little Caesar”™s, the Detroit-based “Pizza, Pizza” company, is set to open another in White Plains. Both are harbingers of local and Northeast expansions expected in the next two years.
Little Caesar”™s sees Westchester County as a perfect demographic sampling at the center of a 300-mile-wide similar population center. More so than side-by-side offices, the company seeks a little breathing room for store placement, staking its successful business model on the old-fashioned notion of a hot, fresh dinner at home.
The county is steeped in pizza lore and its residents are passionate defenders of neighborhood slices. Many will not eat pizza in the hinterlands and likely an equal number will not eat a pie from a national chain. But the man in charge of Little Caesar”™s expansion offered a bold challenge: “Try our pizza; you will see why people love it.”
The White Plains spot has yet to be determined. Little Caesar”™s Yonkers store at 490 S. Broadway opened in 2012.
“The new store will probably be in a new, food-anchored area that features residential and retail,” said Robert Mazziotti, Little Caesar”™s vice president of franchise development, who spoke by phone from Detroit. “When people leave their home for the bank, the dry cleaners, groceries ”¦ we want to be in that mix.” He said two additional stores are “coming soon” to the county.
Mazziotti, 71, acknowledged the pizza-centric tristate market poses challenges, but he also noted his own pizza-loving background ”“ a New Jersey boy who spent much of his youth with relatives in Elmsford. He said confidently, “I challenge you. Try our pizza; you will see why people love it.”
He also is passionate about business. “If you had a dream about a perfect career, mine would be that,” Mazziotti said. “We have helped so many people get introduced to the world of small business. It”™s been unbelievable ”“ to watch new owners overcome their fears and get started; that provides thanks for life.”
White Plains, Yonkers and Westchester County in general satisfy Little Caesar”™s “residential-light business” equation perfectly, Mazziotti said. “We avoid exclusively business areas. We are a dinner product at the household level.
“Where you sit,” he said speaking to a reporter in White Plains, “is within 300 miles of one-third of the population of the United States. That”™s exciting for Little Caesar”™s. We see Westchester County representing a great sampling of the entire East Coast and we are very excited to expand into White Plains. We are earmarking the area for growth over the next few years and we”™ll be looking for franchise candidates, doing franchise shows and running ads.”
Mazziotti also is in what he terms “the fun business,” spanning corporate ownership of entertainment facilities and professional sports teams that include Detroit”™s Tigers and Red Wings. “We identify with being sports oriented,” he said. “We hire a lot of college students and a lot of them are athletes. It”™s often their first job and they hold it right through college. Being tied to sports is something they enjoy. Family focus and sports focus: it”™s what every American stands for.”
Mazziotti said the takeout pizza market thrives, while sit-down establishments are in rockier waters.
“The history of pizza in this country is fascinating,” Mazziotti said. “The product grew out of the 1940s in big cities like New York and Chicago. From there it spread to smalltown America as pizza parlors. From there it is remarkable because it made the leap to a household product. And that”™s what we provide, pizza for the family market at home.”
Mazziotti said Westchester has been earmarked for growth by Little Caesars. “Over the next few years we will be looking for franchise candidates,” he said. “Our owners are everyday people.
“We have second-, even third-generation franchisees,” he said. “We reach out to those with desire, with passion, those who stick to it, those who can follow our system. They must have a genuine love of people. We provide a festive food; they should have a festive personality. They are going to serve people and get involved in the community. It”™s not about high or low income. It has to be the right person.”
Little Caesar”™s franchisees coast to coast pitch in when the Love Kitchen comes to town. The Love Kitchen is a converted 18-wheeler that, to date, has served more than 1.5 million meals at sites that include Ground Zero, the Oklahoma City bombing and hurricane Katrina. “We have done some great things,” Mazziotti said. “Little Caesar”™s is very proud of that.”
Little Caesar”™s with its tiny cartoon spokesman consciously keeps things light. It is privately held and now in 28 countries. There is no “We”™re No. 4!” ad campaign à la Avis, but, said Mazziotti, “We are very comfortable with our position among the top four pizza makers nationally.” Pizza Hut, Domino”™s and Papa John”™s are Nos. 1 to 3.
“If you think about it, pizza is a fun food,” he said. “You never eat pizza in a bad mood. People smile when they eat pizza and we”™re part of that. Give us the opportunity to bring a great pizza to all the great people of Westchester County, which represents a great sampling of the East Coast. We”™ve had a terrific run for the last 10 years and we are very excited to expand to White Plains.”
