NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — What started as a reassured, temporary hiccup at North Platte’s Little Caesars has escalated into an indefinite closure, leaving pizza lovers scratching their heads.
On Sept. 25, District Manager Kim Nitz tried to calm concerns after the store briefly shut its doors. Taking to social media comments, she reassured locals, writing, “We’ll be open as soon as we can. We just ran out of product.” She explained the shortage happened while training new employees on ordering supplies. “Sometimes you gotta fail before you can succeed. We’re human and we make mistakes — it’s how we learn. We cannot wait to be open again and serving all of you.”
At the time, the message seemed clear: the closure was short-term, and pizza cravings would soon be satisfied.
But in a sudden turn of events, by Wednesday, Oct. 1, just days later, both Nitz and Taylor Jenkins, the restaurant’s Director of Operations, had resigned. Jenkins told a local North Platte news outlet the closure is likely to be lengthy, citing financial issues and unpaid wages as factors in her departure.
“Pretty much everybody has left, they will be closed for quite some time,” Jenkins said. “If they can get a new crew in there, that’s awesome, I wish them the best, but I have to stick up for my employees and those that I care for and have worked with for the last four years, this is how I’m doing that.”
Reports indicate more than 220 employees also left following the fallout.
The North Platte location is now closed indefinitely, and Little Caesars has not released a public statement regarding a reopening timeline.
This local closure comes amid a wave affecting other locations as well: 13 Little Caesars stores across Nebraska, Virginia, and North Carolina have also shut their doors. While customers once believed the North Platte store’s closure was a simple matter of restocking, it now appears to be part of a larger, more complicated picture involving management and financial challenges.
For now, North Platte residents are left waiting, hoping their “Hot-N-Ready” favorites will return — but with no clear timetable in sight, the reopening remains uncertain.