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Founders 1958-1959
Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kansas, rented a small building at 503 south bluff in Wichita and purchasing secondhand equipment to make pizzas, The Carneys and Bender opened the first pizza restaurant. The opening night they gave away pizza to encourage community interest. -
1959
1958 pizza hut incorporated in kanas, and Dick Hassur opened the first franchise unit in Topeka, Kansas -
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1967
a pizza hut restaurant as built in five day by franchisees at the Oklahoma State Fair. The worlds largest pizza (6 feet in diameter) is baked and served at the grand opening of Fort Worth, Texas Pizza Hut® restraurant -
1968
international market entered with opening of pizza hut restaurant in canada Pizza hut serves a million people a week at it 310 locations -
1969
red roof adopted for restaurants. first pizza hut restauant opens in mexico. Construction begins in munich, germany and australia -
1970
sandwiches added to basic menu of thin 'n crispy® pizza, salad, beer, and soft drinks first restautant opened in australia -
1971
pizza hut becomes the number one pizza resaurant chain in the world in both sales and number of restaurants. -
1972
pizza hut, inc. listed on New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PIZ. costa rica -
1973
pizza hut restaurant open in japan and england -
1975
Thick'n Chewy® pizza introduced. Chatsworth, CA Pizza Hut restaurant is used in the filming of "the bad news bears" -
1976
The 100th international pizza hut restaurent is opened in australia, while entire system reaches 2,000 -
1977
Pizza hut inc. stockholders overwhelmingly approve merger with PepsiCo, inc for an undisclosed sum.
super supreme is introduced nationwide. Pizza hut opens it 3,000th unit in Arlington, Texas -
1979
The Sicillian Pan Pizza is introduced.
units open in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi
Pizza hut raises $342,000 for easter seals from national promotion. -
1980
pan pizza is introduced throughout the system the restaurents are opened more than 4,000 -
1982
the pizza hut ET glass promotion is picked as the top marketing promotion of 1982 by the editoial staff of Chain Marketing and managent
Pizza hut sevres one and half million pounds of pasta annually -
1983
Personal Pan Pizza®, with a five-minute guarantee, is introduced throughout the system
pizza hut celebrates 25th anniversary
pizza hut employs 10,000 teenagers from 16-19 years old -
1984
BOOK IT!® national reading incentive program is launched with 200,000 elementary students enrolled
there are more pizza locations than hamburger restaurants in the United States. pizzaias account 9.9% of alll restaurants in the U.S. -
1986
the system celebrates the openning of its 5,000th restaurant, located in Dallas, texas
delivery service, as a new concept, is initiated
fastest construction of a pizza hut restraurant takes place in Wichita, KS-- 39 days from start to finish the national average is 85 days -
1988
Hand-Tossed Traditional Pizza is introduced throughout the system.
Pizza Hut celebrates its 30th anniversary with a total of more than 6,000 restaurants and delivery units worldwide.
President Ronald Reagan awards Private Initiative Citation to Pizza Hut President Art Gunther for the creation of BOOK IT!® Program. -
1989
The Pizza Hut Jobs Plus® program expands nationwide to employ more than 10,000 individuals with physical and developmental disabilities. The Jobs Plus program is recognized as the largest corporate initiative of its kind in the food service industry.
Pizza Hut opens its 1,000th international unit in Welland, Ontario, Canada. Pizza Hut now serves 54 countries.
Pizza Hut sells 9.1 million "Land Before Time" puppets. When released to the public, the movie enjoyed the largest opening ever. -
1990
Pizza Hut system sales reach $4 billion.
Pizza Hut delivers more than 1,340,000 pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday, about 7,000 pies a minute.
Kamran Atri, assistant manager in Leesberg, VA serves his way into the Guinness Book of World Records by waiting tables at the Leesberg, VA Pizza Hut restaurant for 136 hours, donating $1,200 in tips to the Loudoun County Shelter for Abused Women & Children.
More than 4,000 Jobs Plus employees work for Pizza Hut.
Personal Pan Pizza® becomes available at 1,00 -
1992
Lunch buffet introduced in 1,800 units.
Pizza Hut sets up two mobile hot trailers in Florida City and Goulds, FL after Hurricane Andrew wreaks havoc. Pizza Hut provides 120,000 free meals to relief volunteers and those who lost their homes.
Pizza boxes redesigned to save 275,000 trees a year -
1993
Pizza Hut introduces BIGFOOT Pizza -- two square feet of pizza cut into 21 slices.
The Harvest Program is launched nationwide to donate surplus food to food rescue agencies.
Pizza Hut makes its fastest and farthest delivery: 600 large pepperoni pizzas on a 24-hour flight from Dover Air Force Base to U.S. service personnel in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Pizza Hut leads the entire restaurant industry in growth and sets new company records for sales and profits.
Pizza Hut introduces Chunky Style Pizza -
1994
Pizza Hut becomes the single largest retailer of basketballs in the United States, selling 3.7 million balls during its NCAA® Final Four® promotion. Pizza Hut opens 9,700 square foot Super Pizza Hut® restaurant and entertainment center in Mexico City. Pizza Hut in Beirut reopens after being closed during the Gulf War. Soccer legend Pele kicks a ball through the door of Pizza Hut® restaurant number 10,000 in Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 13 -
1995
Pizza Hut launches the "You'll Love The Stuff We're Made Of"® campaign.
Buffalo Wings soar onto Pizza Hut menu. These spicy chicken wings are served with dipping sauce.
Two Customer Satisfaction programs initiated: a 1-800 Customer Satisfaction Hotline and a Customer Call-Back Program, which takes the pulse of 50,000 customers per week.
Pizza Hut launches Pizzeria Stuffed Crust Pizza, which immediately sets company sales records.
The Deliver Me Home program is created by Pizza Hut and delivery -
1996
Pizza Hut airs its first ever ad during the Super Bowl. Pizza Hut delivers 30% of the 12 million pizzas delivered on Super Bowl Sunday. This is the biggest pizza delivery day of the year. On May 30, Pizza Hut introduces two varieties of chicken-topped pizza... Italian Chicken and Chicken Supreme. -
1997
Pizza Hut launches a meatier pepperoni. PepsiCo announces restaurant spin-off. Pizza Hut launches "Totally New Pizzas" a quality initiative putting sliced, fresh vegetables and meaty meats on pizzas. Pizza Hut launches "The Edge pizza" -
1998
Pizza Hut celebrates 40 years of making and serving great pizza. Pizza Hut launches "The Sicilian Pizza" a flavorful crust with garlic, basil and oregano baked right into the crust Pizza Hut launches "The Best Pizzas Under One Roof" campaign. Pizza Hut features Sony's Crash Bandicoot in the Stuffed Crust Pizza/Sony Promotion. -
1999
Pizza Hut launches The Big New Yorker Pizza. A 16 inch pizza with a sweeter, savory sauce, 100% real cheese cut into 8 big foldable slices. Pizza Hut brings New York-style pizza across America.Pizza Hut features Fran Drescher, Spike Lee and Donald Trump in The Big New Yorker Pizza advertising campaign. The celebrity campaign launched in the pre-game advertising for Super Bowl XXXIII.Pizza Hut launches Pizza PlayStuff, a kid's program that enables customers to purchase the featured kids' toy. -
2000
In July 2000, Pizza Hut became the first company in history to place its logo on the world's largest proton rocket. The innovative space sponsorship campaign was part of the company's dramatic turnaround and re-imaging campaign, which included a more than $500 million investment over five years to make contemporary and upgrade Pizza Hut units around the globe.Pizza Hut introduces The Insider pizza, featuring an "ooey, gooey" six-cheese blend between two delicious thin crusts and tangy sauces -
2001
Pizza Hut and ad agency BBDO create a national television commercial in 24 hours about the Bush-Gore election in which no winner was determined after election night. The commercial was tied to The Insider pizza.Pizza Hut introduced Twisted Crust pizza - Twisted Crust pizza boasted a revolutionary breadstick crust that surrounded a hot, delicious Pizza Hut pizza.Pizza Hut became the first company in history to deliver pizza to the pioneers living in outer space on the International Space Station.
