This week's Soldier of Fortune is a Marine from Detroit who turned a single pizza shop into one of the most recognizable brands in America—and later made sure other veterans could build businesses of their own.
A Marine before the pizza
Michael Ilitch was born in Detroit on July 20, 1929. After high school he served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. When he came home he chased baseball for a stretch in the minors, then hung up the cleats after a knee injury. In 1959 he founded Little Caesars Pizza Treat in Garden City, Michigan. That shop became Little Caesars—and a national franchise system built on speed, value, and a lot of hard work.
Building more than a brand
Ilitch didn't stop at pizza. He bought the Detroit Red Wings in 1982 and the Detroit Tigers in 1992, poured money into downtown Detroit, and helped restore the Fox Theatre. Under his ownership the Red Wings won multiple Stanley Cups. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2003. He died on February 10, 2017, at age 87.
The veterans angle that stuck with me
In 2006, Ilitch founded the Little Caesars Veterans Program to help honorably discharged veterans start franchises when they leave the service or change careers. The Department of Veterans Affairs later gave him the Secretary's Award for that work—the highest honor the department gives a civilian. That's the part of his story I want other veterans to hear: service can be a foundation for building something that feeds people and creates jobs.
What veterans can take from it
- Start small, stay disciplined. One shop. Long hours. Clear standards. That's a Marine approach to business.
- Invest in your city. Ilitch kept putting money and attention back into Detroit when it would have been easier to leave.
- Pull other veterans up. The franchise program turned his success into a ladder. If you build something, leave a door open behind you.
Pizza and hockey aren't the point. The point is a Marine who kept showing up for his hometown and for the people who served after him. Semper Fi.
Know a veteran founder or veteran-owned business I should feature next? Let me know.
Sources: Mike Ilitch, Wikipedia · Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor
