Almost No One Remembers the Casual Sit-Down Restaurant Little Ceasers Once Opened in Michigan

Michigan is famously the home of Little Casears (and several other pizza chains that gained national prominence like Domino's, Hungry Howie's, Jet's and Buddy's). A great deal of the experimentation done by Little Caesars over the years has been incubated in Michigan including a nearly forgotten casual dining restaurant in the Detroit suburbs.

Known as Little Caesars Italiano, the restaurant once welcomed diners to a sit-down experience with way more than pizza on the menu.

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The single Italiano concept restaurant opened along Michigan Avenue in Dearborn in 1992 and operated through most of the decade.

A recently turned up photo from the Dearborn Historical Museum shows how the restaurant once looked.

The chain's famous orange color is muted by a more prominent blue green sign and brick façade. The sign for the restaurant promotes pizza, pasta, salads, beer and wine.

The sign also promotes 'Mike's Favorite Italian Four Cheese Pizza.' Mike almost certainly being a nod to founder Mike Ilitch.

That wider offering is a bit of a call back to the original Little Caesars location in Garden City. Dating back to the late 1950s, that outlet offered chicken, fish and shrimp in addition to pizza.

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Memories of Little Caesars Italiano Restaurant

There were some who saw the Facebook post and commented with memories of Little Caesars Italiano

Used to go there. Nothing as fancy as crazy bread on a glass plate

Yes! They served baskets of small crazy breads

I remember going there for a couple birthdays. It had a really cool angled mural of an Italian street.

Yes loved their cheesy breadstick. The spaghetti was very good.

The location at 2378 Michigan Avenue became a Tim Hortons. While the look of the old Little Caesars concept restaurant is gone, the neighboring buildings appear little changed today from the 90s-era photo above.