Southwest Corner

You Make It Great!

Since the first Pizza Hut opened in 1958, the story of this famed restaurant chain is actually the story of its customers. And for those customers, a trip to Pizza Hut meant something special was about to happen. It might be a child’s birthday party or a first date. Maybe it was a 60th anniversary dinner or a break from moving house or a celebratory meal after the game.

Lots of places sell pizza, but Pizza Hut developed a talent for creating experiences that customers will remember for years to come.

From intimate moments with family and friends to momentous global events, Pizza Hut has played a key role in so many lives.

Pizza Hut is more than a meal, more than a place to grab a quick bite. Pizza Hut is a place for celebration, for community, and for family. No other restaurant brand brings people together quite like Pizza Hut. From Wichita to Warsaw, from Indonesia to Indiana, Pizza Hut has been the place people have gathered to celebrate, reconnect, relax, or visit as a reward for a job well done.

Local Restaurant, Global Impact

Pizza began as a working class food that came to the United States via Naples, Italy. Today, thanks to companies like Pizza Hut, pizza is global fare, the love for which is shared across cultures and national boundaries.

National boundaries aren’t the only barriers that Pizza Hut pizza has crossed. In July 2000, a rocket that included Pizza Hut pizza topped with salami (pepperoni didn’t have the necessary shelf life) docked with the International Space Station, making Pizza Hut the first company to deliver food to space.

Pizza Hut paid $1,000,000 to the Russian space agency to pull off the promotional stunt, and had the foresight to load the pizza with extra salt and spices, as extended stays in space tend to deaden the sense of taste.

Image: Children celebrate a birthday at Pizza Hut with balloons, hats, and Pizza Pete hand puppets, ca. 1975. Courtesy of the Carney Collection, Ablah Library Special Collections

A Russian Revolution

In 1991, Boris Yeltsin fought off a coup against the Russian Federation. Barricaded in the Russian Parliament building, relief came for Yeltsin and his compatriots in the form of three hundred free pizzas, twenty cases of Pepsi, and several gallons of coffee, all delivered over the barricades by the Pizza Hut located near Moscow’s Red Square.

After the coup failed, Yeltsin personally called to thank a Pizza Hut manager, saying: “Thank you very much for coming through and being supportive. I will never forget it.”

Image: Senator Bob Dole (R - KS, second from right) presents former Russian president Boris Yeltsin (far right) with a silver pizza pan, Wichita, 1992. Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc / Contributor, Getty Images

“We wanted to support the guys who were building democracy.” — Sergei Terentyev, Moscow Pizza Hut employee, 1991