Long, exhausting days at work, kids' birthday parties, large gatherings, these situations have called for the $5 Hot-N-Ready pizzas to the rescue for many, many years here in Missoula. That convenient price is now just fond memory as the pizza staple has raised the price at all of their stores nationwide.

So how much is a Hot-N-Ready now?

In November when there was a lot of Thanksgiving dinner preparation going on in the days leading up to turkey day but not-so-much for that night, I popped into the Little Caesars on Brooks for a couple of Hot-N-Ready pizzas, a ten-dollar bill in hand. I was surprised when my total was not ten bucks, it was actually $11.10, a full 11% price increase. I must have looked like an idiot staring at this guy confused about what he just said to me and he's like yeah, we finally fell victim to the pandemic inflation. Hot-N-Readys are now $5.55, the first time in Little Caesars' history that they have changed the price of the pie. Shout out to the nice guy behind me who tried to pitch in the $1.10 I was not prepared for, love that typical Missoula behavior.

The $5.55 may be temporary.

Little Caesars' corporate office says the price hike does come with 33% more pepperoni and that the $5.55 price may be temporary. I don't know if that means temporary in that it will go back to $5 or continue to increase, but it's still one helluva bargain in my opinion. In fact, I'm surprised it took this long to increase. But next time you're gathering up the quarters at the bottom of your cup holder in the car for a quick and easy dinner, remember you'll need that extra 55 cents.

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