313Presents history

The first Little Caesars franchise location opened in 1962, which paved the way to thousands of restaurants found in all 50 states and several countries.

In 1976 the Ilitches turned to Madison Avenue to pitch their one-price concept.

Cliff Freeman, already famous for his Wendy's 'Where's the Beef?' ad campaign, created the 'Pizza! Pizza!' concept, backed by the slogan, 'Two Great Pizzas! One Great Price! Always! Always!' As a regional company, Little Caesars had only 200 outlets in 1981.

At that point, the Ilitches took the business nationwide, and by 1984 they had 500 outlets, a figure that had doubled within two years.

1986: The number of Little Caesars outlets reaches 1,000.

After the Ilitches spent millions of dollars in renovations, the Fox reopened in 1988, offering a mix of concerts, theater, family shows, and restored classic films, and was quite profitable within a year.

Founder Tom Monaghan had taken a two-year leave of absence in 1989, and his business suffered as a result.

In 1992, he purchased the Detroit Tigers from rival pizza mogul Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza.

Ilitch hired the NHL's most successful coach, Scott Bowman, in 1993.

By 1997 Ilitch was forced to refocus his attention on his pizza business.

Comerica Park opened for the 2000 season, and the value of the Tigers franchise increased by a dramatic 32 percent, to $200 million, according to Forbes.

For his efforts in the sport, Ilitch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

Ilitch passed away on February 10, 2017.