Buzz
For over six decades, Pizza Hut has been serving up piping hot, cheesy pizzas to eager customers across the globe. (With more than 16,000 outlets worldwide.) Whether you prefer meaty toppings or veggie delights, here are 15 fascinating facts about this beloved pizza brand.
1. The chain was started by two college-going brothers.
Dan and Frank Carney secured $600 from their mother in 1958 to launch a pizza joint while studying at Wichita State University. The name was derived from the old bar they leased to set up their inaugural restaurant.
2. Franchising for Pizza Hut began almost immediately.
Just a year after launching their first outlet in Wichita, Kansas, the Carney brothers formalized their business and enlisted their friend Dick Hassur to establish the first franchise in Topeka, Kansas. Hassur, who had studied and worked at Boeing with Dan Carney, was eager to leave his insurance career. He quickly expanded to own multiple franchises and played a key role in recruiting managers to open Pizza Hut locations nationwide.
On one occasion, when a top-performing manager at a Wichita location resigned, Hassur was tasked with persuading him to stay. That manager was Bill Parcells, who had quit to pursue his first coaching role at a small college in Nebraska. Parcells later achieved fame by coaching several NFL teams, including leading the New York Giants to two Super Bowl wins. "I might have been mistaken," Hassur admitted about trying to convince Parcells that his earnings would be higher as a manager than as a coach, "but I’m certain he would have excelled at Pizza Hut as well."
3. The early years featured a mascot.
Roadsidepictures, Flickr // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Before the famous red roof logo debuted in 1969, Pizza Hut's mascot was Pizza Pete, who also doubled as its logo. This cartoon character, sporting a mustache, chef’s hat, neckerchief, and apron, was depicted serving delicious meals to eager customers. Pizza Pete remained a staple on bags, cups, and ads throughout the 1970s before gradually being retired.
4. Pizza Hut once introduced its own line of perfume.
5. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brought them massive success.
Kevin Winter, Getty ImagesWhen a group of pizza-loving, crime-fighting turtles became cultural icons, partnering with them was an obvious move for a pizza brand. While Domino's appeared in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in 1990, Pizza Hut secured advertising spots on the film's VHS release. Additionally, Pizza Hut reportedly
6. Pizza Hut once produced real Easy-Bake ovens.
Kids in the 1970s were fortunate to have miniature toy ovens designed like the restaurant, where they could bake small Pizza Hut pizzas using a 60-watt light bulb.
7. Their classic ads featured famous celebrities.
An 11-year-old Elijah Wood began his career by tossing potato salad at his co-star; Ringo Starr and the Monkees raved about the stuffed-crust pizza; and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made a peculiar, politically charged pizza advertisement, appearing with his young granddaughter at a Russian Pizza Hut (though the commercial wasn’t intended for Russian audiences).
8. The Book It! program has been around for 35 years.
In 1984, Pizza Hut launched the BOOK IT! program, a campaign designed to motivate kids to read by offering them "praise, recognition, and pizza." Its success was so notable that First Lady Barbara Bush hosted a reading-themed pizza celebration at the White House in 1989. The initiative is now recognized as the "longest-running corporate-backed reading program in the U.S." and has impacted over 60 million children.
9. They pioneered the pan pizza concept early on.
iStockPizza Hut debuted pan pizza in 1980, nearly a decade before Domino's added it to their offerings. In 1983, they rolled out personal pan pizzas, which remain a highly sought-after reward in the BOOK IT! program and the sole pizza choice at smaller Pizza Hut outlets, such as those inside Target stores.
10. They were also among the first to embrace online ordering.
In 1994, Pizza Hut partnered with The Santa Cruz Operation to develop PizzaNet, an innovative system enabling users to order pizzas online. The Los Angeles Times described the concept as "ingenious yet underdeveloped" and "the ultimate tech-savvy dining experience." Remarkably, the website is still operational today—feel free to give it a try!
11. Pizza Hut has sent pizza to space...
iStockIn 2001, Pizza Hut achieved a milestone by becoming the first brand to send pizzas into space. The recipe underwent extensive testing under "strict thermal stabilization conditions" to ensure it remained edible upon reaching the International Space Station. Additionally, Pizza Hut invested a significant, undisclosed amount (exceeding $1 million) to place a 30-foot-wide advertisement on a rocket in 1999.
12. ...but not to the Moon.
In 1999, Mike Rawlings, then-CEO of Pizza Hut (and now Mayor of Dallas), informed The New York Times that an earlier space marketing concept involved projecting the company logo onto the moon using lasers. However, astronomers and physicists cautioned that the image would need to be as large as Texas to be visible from Earth, and the endeavor would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. They decided it was wiser to focus on Super Bowl advertisements.
13. They once introduced pizza-themed engagement packages.
iStockWhat’s the ideal way to propose? In 2012, Pizza Hut proposed an engagement party package featuring a $10 dinner box, a limo, a ruby ring, fireworks, flowers, and a photographer—all for $10,010. True to the theme, only 10 packages were made available. However, it’s worth noting that while the food cost $10, the rest of the package essentially amounted to the price of a wedding proposal.
14. Pizza Hut consumes three percent of the U.S. cheese supply.
With its vast number of locations and cheese-filled crusts, Pizza Hut requires an enormous amount of dairy. The company consumes more than 300 million pounds of cheese each year, making it one of the largest cheese purchasers globally. Producing this quantity of cheese involves 170,000 cows, yielding an estimated 300 billion gallons of milk. It’s something to ponder the next time you indulge in an Ultimate Cheese Lover’s pizza with extra cheese.
15. Many former Pizza Hut locations have been repurposed.
Mike Kalasnik, Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0Franchise locations don’t always succeed, and when they shut down, their buildings are often repurposed rather than demolished. The distinctive hut-shaped structures are easily recognizable, even after being transformed. The blog "Used to Be a Pizza Hut" features an interactive map showcasing over 500 former locations submitted by contributors worldwide. Additionally, a Kickstarter-funded photo book titled Pizza Hunt captures the "second lives" of these iconic buildings.
