Little Caesars is looking to take a bite out of the Big Apple.

The family-owned and third-largest pizza chain in the United States announced an aggressive new strategy to open hundreds of restaurants during the next several years throughout New York City and the Tri-State area. To kick things off, the companyhas signed an agreement with experienced multi-brand franchisees Suhel Ahmed and Saurabh Desai that will bring 10 Little Caesars restaurants to the Bronx and upper Manhattan by 2026. The first opening is scheduled for late 2023.

“New York City is an iconic pizza market, and we’re eager to bring more of our high-quality, great-value products and fast, convenient ordering options to the city,” said Jeremy Vitaro, Little Caesars chief development officer. “We’re excited to work with Suhel and Saurabh, who have extensive experience developing restaurants in New York City, to help grow our presence in the market.”

Ahmed and Desai have more than 40 years of combined restaurant experience. They also own and operate dozens of franchise locations by other global quick-service restaurant chains throughout New York City.

“We know how to own and operate a multi-unit franchise business, and we know what brands work in New York City,” said Ahmed. “We chose to franchise with Little Caesars because it has decades of experience as a global pizza chain and because of its recognized value, quality and convenience that revolutionized the pizza industry.”

Little Caesars is seeking accomplished multi-unit franchisees with extensive QSR experience to help grow the brand across the Tri-State Area. There are several multi-unit opportunities available with a three-store minimum agreement throughout Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Connecticut and the five boroughs.

Headquartered in Detroit, Little Caesars has locations in each of the 50 U.S. states and 27 countries and territories.The brand is home of the exclusive Pizza Portal pickup, a heated, self-service mobile order pickup station.