LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Robbie Doughty had lost his legs in a roadside bombing in Iraq and was searching for a new life outside the Army when a call came from a pizza magnate.

Michael Ilitch, founder and owner of the Little Caesars pizza chain, offered a business proposition.

Ilitch had read about Doughty's recovery from the 2004 bomb blast and asked the former staff sergeant if he'd like to open a Little Caesars franchise in Paducah, in Doughty's native western Kentucky.

"I was just kind of floored," Doughty said. "I didn't hesitate a second to say, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' "

Ilitch encouraged him to find a business partner, and Doughty picked Army comrade Lloyd Allard.

After months of preparations, the two partners celebrated their pizza store's grand opening Thursday, an event attended by Ilitch and other Little Caesars executives.

It was Doughty's situation in making the transition to civilian life that spurred the Detroit-based carryout pizza chain into offering incentives to recruit military veterans into its ranks.

Since last November, any qualified, honorably discharged veteran can receive $10,000 in discounts to become a Little Caesars franchise operator — $5,000 off the franchise fee for the first store and a $5,000 credit for equipment. Discounts for veterans with disabling injuries can reach $68,000 — including a full waiver of the franchise fee, a $10,000 credit toward equipment and $20,000 in financing benefits.

"We're all frustrated and want to help our service people," Ilitch, an ex-Marine, said in a recent telephone interview. "I'm fortunate that I'm in a position to be able to help."

Little Caesars has received hundreds of inquiries from veterans, and a couple dozen applications are being reviewed, said David Scrivano, president of Little Caesar Enterprises Inc.

Brian Lawrence, assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, a nonprofit advocacy group, said disabled veterans are a largely untapped source of business entrepreneurs.

"They pour their entire being into that business," he said. "They carry with them the discipline and the good work habits that they acquired in the military."

About 250 companies that are members of the International Franchise Association offer incentives to help honorably discharged veterans acquire franchises, said Terry Hill, a spokesman for the association. Incentives can include discounts on franchise fees and waivers on training costs, he said.

Since 2002, more than 600 franchises have been sold to veterans across a spectrum of service companies as part of the program, he said, citing a survey last fall. At that time, more than 150 other sales were in the pipeline, he said. He didn't know how many franchises were acquired by disabled veterans.

The UPS Store chain has signed up 130 veterans to become franchisees as part of the program, offering them breaks on franchise fees and help in finding financing, said spokesman Rich Hallabrin. Some participants are Iraq war veterans, others served as long ago as Vietnam, he said.

Hallabrin said the veterans have many attributes for business success, including "a sense of self-responsibility — you have to look to yourself to succeed."

Doughty, 32, who is married with a 3-year-old son and another child expected in the spring, had been in Iraq for two months when he was wounded. He sought out a front-lines assignment after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. In Iraq, he coordinated intelligence for several Army Special Forces teams.

He planned on spending 20 to 30 years in the Army, and then starting a second career, possibly in law enforcement or healthcare as a physician's assistant.

Doughty's plans were shattered by the bomb blast that hit his patrol in July 2004 at Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack by Iraqi insurgents.

After spending time in hospitals in Iraq and Germany, Doughty was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he spent five months in rehabilitation. He was fitted with prosthetic legs.

"I was pretty dedicated to getting recovered," he said. "Once I made the decision that I was going to retire (from the Army), I decided I need to get home and find a way to move on with life."

It was Doughty's attitude that appealed to Ilitch when he read about the wounded soldier.

"It was an impulse thing, I just picked up the phone and called," Ilitch said.

Later, Ilitch traveled to Paducah to meet with Doughty, and the ex-soldier visited Little Caesars' headquarters for training.

Doughty incurred no upfront costs to open his store, which started serving pizzas about a week before the grand opening. He said business has been brisk, and he was preparing for a big rush on Super Bowl Sunday. Doughty and Allard have put in long hours, from opening to closing, though they have about 35 employees.

"We're very hands-on," Doughty said. "We do a little bit of everything."