If everything goes as planned, local Kirkland residents, Corey and Amy Freebairn, are opening a Little Caesars Pizza store on Jan. 25 at 12620 N.E. 85th St. between Interstate 405 and 132nd Street.

The lease was signed in October and immediately followed with work on plans and permits with the City of Kirkland.

According to Corey Freebairn, “Working with the City of Kirkland has been excellent; Planning and Building were supportive and ready to lend a hand, and the inspectors were timely and helpful.”

Little Caesars will be the third business to locate in the Rose Hill Plaza — a building that has stood mostly vacant for several years. The building was originally intended to be a free-standing market, but the space has now been demised to accommodate several businesses. The next expected tenant will be a Kiddie Academy to the east of Little Caesars.

“There was only one major surprise as we built-out this space from scratch … the building had no natural gas service. A bit of a shock to a guy with two gas-burning, fire-breathing pizza ovens. Surprised the landlord as well,” said Corey.

Natural gas is pretty important when you plan on cooking a lot of pizzas and chicken wings at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. But working closely with PSE, the gas line was installed and the pizza-making is scheduled to begin on Jan. 25.

This new store is consistent with Little Caesars nationwide “Hot ‘n Ready” system featuring several pizzas at a $5 price point that are ready-to-go or made-to-order.

Little Caesars has been recognized as “Best Value in America” for fourth consecutive year by one of the largest research studies in the food industry, Sandelman & Associates’ Quick-Track® research study.