Hot, ready and incredibly affordable, Little Caesars Pizza opened in Marshfield in April by two veterans; Tom and Mechelle Fitzgerald. Tom served five years in the Navy, Mechelle served three and a half years in the Army.
“We started eating Little Caesar’s about 17 years ago. We ordered on a Friday night as a family for the first time. We have four kids, one of my sons has Aspergers and he likes schedules, so it became our Friday night thing,” laughed Michelle Fitzgerald, co-franchisee of Little Caesars. “We’ve moved 7 times over the last 17 years and every time we moved we looked for a Little Caesar’s. We eat Little Caesars every Friday night. We’ve maybe only missed 5 times.”
Two years ago the Fitzgerald’s moved to Niangua. Franchising for Little Caesars “…just made since. We were driving to either Lebanon or Springfield (for our pizza) and it was time for me to grow up and get a job,” laughed Fitzgerald. “Our kids are grown now, my youngest are 16 and more self sufficient. We researched what franchise to open and Little Caesars was family owned, family operated, inexpensive and it had the Veterans Program-which is amazing…and we’re just really big on Little Caesars.”
“I’m really excited. I’m ready to do something. I started researching…I signed the lease in April of 2021. We had to wait a while for the construction and that was hard but everything happens for a reason for us…I think April was the perfect time for us to open,” reflected Fitzgerald. “Within a week, week and a half, of opening we had our crew trained and blooming.”
“The military taught us team work, discipline and not being lazy. The military shows you that you have to go and get what you want,” explained Fitzgerald. “I love people. I love kids. Working with the high schoolers and seeing them grow is amazing. My philosophy when you work for me is that we are all positive and we are a family.”
If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the new pizza joint, head in anytime next week: Monday, May 30 through Friday, June 3 to celebrate the official grand opening. Hot and Ready’s will be just $5 all week. If you come in on Friday ask to meet Tom or Mechelle and get a free cookie just for saying hello.
When asking Mechelle Fitzgerald where she see’s herself a year from now she replied laughing, “Possibly opening another one (Little Caesars). I wouldn’t have said that a month ago…but I’m getting a handle on it and now I could see myself opening another one-if I could find a good location.”
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