Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut is a restaurant chain and international franchise based in Addison, Texas,USA (a northern suburb of Dallas) offering different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread. Pizza Hut is the world's largest pizza restaurant chain[citation needed] and is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., who has approximately 34,000 restaurants, delivery-carry out units, and kiosks in 100 countries.

It is one of three major pizza chains headquartered in suburbs of Dallas. Mr. Jim's Pizza and Pizza Inn are the others.

Pizza Hut is split into a number of restaurant concepts. Quickly disappearing from the scene are original family-style "Red Roof" dine-in-only locations, which do not have delivery service. Restaurant-based delivery (RBD) locations offer a hybrid of carry-out, delivery, and dine-in options. Most new stores, however, are "DEL/CO" locations, offering only delivery and carry-out service.

Additionally, Pizza Hut also has a number of unique concepts that are different from the store type. Pizza Hut "Bistro" locations are Red Roofs and RBDs which offer an expanded menu and slighly more upscale options. The new Wingstreet concept is an addition to many RBD and DEL/CO locations which offers customers an expanded selection of chicken wing choices, more than the 'hot' or 'mild' available at all locations.

Finally, "Pizza Hut Express" locations are fast food restaurants licensed by Pizza Hut and operated independently. They offer a completely different menu with many products not found at traditional Pizza Huts, and are often found on college campuses, food courts, theme parks, and in stores such as Target.

The chain was founded in 1958 by Frank Carney.The Original Pizza Hut building was later relocated to the Wichita State University campus.Additional restaurants were opened, with the first franchise unit opening in 1959 in Topeka, Kansas. At the same time Pizza Hut was growing in and around Kansas, Shakey's Pizza was developing a stronghold along the West Coast.

By 1972, with 314 stores nationwide, Pizza Hut went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker symbol PIZ. In 1977, Pizza Hut was acquired by Pepsico, who later also bought KFC and Taco Bell. In 1997, the three restaurant chains were spun off into Tricon, and in 2002 joined with Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants to become YUM! Brands. Pizza Hut has opened Pizza Hut Express which specialize in small 6" pizzas. The oldest continuously operating Pizza Hut in the world is in Manhattan, Kansas, in a shopping and tavern district known as Aggieville.

Pizza Hut sells pizzas in four different sizes: personal (an individual serving), small, medium and large, though most stores have done away with the small size. A variety of toppings are available, plus "specialty" styles, including Meat Lovers, Pepperoni Lovers, Cheese Lovers, Veggie Lovers, Double Cheeseburger, Supreme, Super Supreme and the newly introduced Pizza Mia. The pan pizza has a thicker crust than most other commercially available pizzas.

Pizza Hut also sells Stuffed Crust pizza, with the outermost edge wrapped around a coil of mozzarella cheese; Hand-Tossed, more like traditional pizzeria crusts; Thin 'N Crispy, a thin, crispy dough which was Pizza Hut's original style; Dippin' Strips pizza, a pizza cut into small strips that can be dipped into a number of sauces; and The Edge pizza, where the toppings nearly reach to the edge of the pizza. There was also formerly a crust that was not as thick as Pizza Hut's pan pizza, and not as thin as its thin crust. This crust was used on the Full House XL pizza and discontinued in 2007.

A new version of Pizza Hut pizza, named Pizza Mia, was introduced in 2007. The product is aimed at the cost sensitive consumer segment and is priced similarly to the Domino's 555 deal, where each pizza is priced at five dollars if purchased in bulk of three or more.

Pizza Hut on May 9, 2008, created and sold in Seattle, Denver, and Dallas, “The Natural”, a new all-natural multi grain crust sweetened with honey, a red sauce of organic tomatoes and topped all-natural cheese (or with all-natural chicken sausage and roasted red peppers). A medium Natural pizza with one topping sold for $9.99. It has since launched a nationwide advertising campaign. Also in 2008, Pizza Hut created their biggest pizza ever, the Panormous Pizza. It has 16 pieces to it and is about an inch bigger than a large pizza.