The Original Hut
The first pizza restaurant appeared in the United States in the 1930s.
By November 1957, the Saturday Evening Post reported that a pizza craze
was sweeping the nation with 18,000 pizzerias selling between 200 to
1,000 pizzas each week.
In Wichita, brothers Frank and Dan Carney opened the first Pizza Hut
restaurant on June 15, 1958. They had been approached by the owner of a
small building who wanted a nice neighbourhood business, and had read the
Post's article about pizza. The Carneys borrowed $600 from their mother,
located John Bender, an airman from McConnell Air Force Base who had worked
as a pizza cook, purchased some secondhand equipment and were ready for
business. The first night, they gave away pizza to interest potential customers.
Many people ask how Pizza Hut got its name. When the Carneys were setting up
that first restaurant, the building has a sign with room for just nine
characters. They wanted to use "pizza" in the name, which left room for a
word with only three characters. A family member suggested the building
looked like a hut....and Pizza Hut was born.
Photography © 2003 Bennie Greeley
Craig's Picture of the Day © 2003 Craig Hollabaugh
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