Success Stories: Little Caesars
In 2017, Little Caesars made a strategic decision: invest in the infrastructure that would power its next era of growth.
As one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing pizza brands, Little Caesars operates in a high-volume, entrepreneurial franchise system where speed, consistency, and value define the guest experience. Leadership recognized that sustaining momentum required more than opening new restaurants; it required a modern, scalable communications infrastructure that could support franchisees at every stage of growth.
Rather than waiting for expansion to strain existing systems, the company chose to modernize early, building a cloud-based foundation designed to strengthen performance across thousands of locations and setting the company up for successful long-term growth.
Investing Ahead of Expansion
Lance Shinabarger brought more than 25 years of QSR technology experience and a clear priority: create systems that empower franchisees and protect the brand experience at scale.
“As we continued expanding, we saw an opportunity to strengthen the communications foundation that supports our restaurants,” Shinabarger said. “We wanted a unified communications model that would give franchisees better tools and give us the visibility to support long-term growth.”
Little Caesars selected GoTo Connect to standardize communications across its corporate and franchise restaurants. The initial rollout in corporate locations quickly demonstrated how a unified cloud platform could improve operational consistency and unlock meaningful insight across the system.
This was not simply a technology refresh. It was a strategic move to align communications with the company’s long-term growth ambitions.
Empowering Franchisees with Modern Tools
By transitioning to GoTo Connect, Little Caesars provided franchisees with a centralized, scalable communications platform designed to grow alongside their businesses.
The cloud-based system delivers real-time analytics, simplified onboarding for new restaurants, centralized management, and consistent brand standards across thousands of locations. The company now operates on a unified platform aligned with both corporate strategy and franchise performance.
“We needed a solution that would grow with us,” Shinabarger said. “GoTo Connect gave us the visibility, flexibility, and scalability to support both corporate objectives and franchise success.”
New restaurants can now be deployed with a consistent communications model from day one, while existing operators benefit from better insight into guest engagement.
Boost sales and level up customer interactions – from anywhere.
Delivering Measurable Results
Today, GoTo Connect, supports over 10,000 users nationwide reflecting strong alignment between corporate leadership and franchisees.
Restaurants handle millions of guest calls each month, with an average speed to answer of just 10 seconds. At the same time, the transition to the cloud has reduced monthly communications costs dramatically, improving unit-level economics while enhancing performance.
“It’s rare to improve the guest experience, give franchisees better tools, and lower costs at the same time,” Shinabarger said. “That combination has made adoption a natural next step for many operators.”
By proactively investing in a unified communications strategy, Little Caesars strengthened both franchise profitability and system-wide visibility; positioning the brand to scale with confidence.
Extending the Vision Across Ilitch Companies
The success of the deployment at Little Caesars restaurants has led to broader expansion across Ilitch Companies, the global sports, entertainment, and hospitality organization that includes marquee venues such as Little Caesars Arena and Comerica Park; extending the same commitment to consistency, efficiency, and scalability across the broader organization.
“Having a unified solution across the organization allows us to operate more cohesively,” Shinabarger said. “As we grow, that visibility and consistency become even more important.”
Building for the Future
For Little Caesars, modernizing communications was a deliberate growth strategy — designed to strengthen franchise performance, elevate the guest experience, and build a technology foundation capable of supporting long-term expansion.
By investing early in scalable cloud infrastructure, the company ensured its communications systems would accelerate growth rather than limit it.
Together, Little Caesars and GoTo have built more than a communications platform. They’ve built a foundation for expansion — one designed to support the brand’s continued success for years to come.
