###

If you’re one of the many people who has been wondering when the heck the Little Caesar’s that’s been sitting, looking fully ready to go, on Main Street in Fortuna is actually going to open, then you will be excited to know that the pizza chain location is slated to open its doors at the beginning of 2024. 

Many of you are likely saying to yourself, “Who gives a shit?” and that is perfectly understandable. After all, Fortuna does have several pizza places already –  local favorite Paul’s Live From New York, and chains Round Table and Mountain Mike’s. Does anyone even care whether or not another pizza chain is opening in Fortuna?

Well, yes. They do. 

People have been questioning the status of the Little Caesar’s (also often incorrectly spelled Ceasar’s or Cesar’s) in the Friendly City for more than two years now, with people frequently posting questions or comments about it on the Fortuna Happenings Facebook group. 

Then, late last year, it seemed like the query had finally been answered, when the Fortuna Little Caesar’s finally opened its doors! 

But the restaurant only stayed open very briefly, then closed again without explanation, leaving the community again puzzled. 

At some point the topic started to become a bit of a running joke, with people asking about when the pizza chain would open and others often responding that it would open “next Tuesday.” And whenever the pizza chain chatter had died down for a bit, someone would inevitably post about it again to rouse the online community. 

In fact, the posts about the Little Caesar’s became so prevalent that, just recently, the group admin decided that enough was enough, began removing posts about the business and suggested that people start their own Facebook group if they wanted to keep discussing it. 

“As far as admin is concerned, the group has spoken, and the Little Cesar’s [sic] joke has run its course on this page,” a group admin posted to the Fortuna Happenings page on Nov. 10. “Until there is new and credible information regarding this business, admin will continue to to remove posts about Little Cesar’s [sic] that are only clogging up the feed on this group…My suggestion is, if you’re particularly fond of this subject, start your own FB page and invite people to continue to complain about it there…” 

It didn’t take long for the Little Caesar’s die-hards to take the admin up on their suggestion and later that very day a new Facebook group, “Fortuna Little Caesars ‘when will they open’” was born. 

Well, now it looks like Fortuna Happenings might have to start allowing Little Caesar’s posts again, because the Outpost has some new and credible information about the business. To get to the bottom of this pizza mystery, we made a trip to Fortuna City Hall and learned that a new owner, Gurbrinder Sandhu, had recently taken over the business and had filed a business license with the City. 

Reached by phone on Friday afternoon, Sandhu confirmed that he has been in the process of purchasing the Little Ceasar’s for about two months. He couldn’t say much about why the previous owners decided to sell, but did say they were having “some family issues,” which may have contributed to the location not being open. 

Sandhu’s franchise business, GM Fast Food Inc., owns and operates eight other Little Caesar’s locations throughout California, he said, adding that he is very excited about opening the shop in Fortuna. 

Because the business is already completely built, has all of the necessary permits in place and has already passed inspections, Sandhu said that taking over the restaurant has been a relatively simple process and that everything is “pretty much ready to go.” 

The plan, which Sandhu feels confident about, is to open the doors just after the new year, on Jan. 9. 

“Pizza, pizza,” he added. “It’s coming.” 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Jan. 9 is, in fact, a Tuesday.