Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an international food franchise specializing in pizza. It was founded in 1958 by two college students, Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kansas. The company gained national recognition in its first-ever advertising campaign, called "Putt Putt to Pizza Hut", which first debuted on American television in 1965.
Pizza Hut was "spun off" from Pepsi Cola into a company called Tricon Global Restaurants (now Yum! Brands, Inc.), in October 1997. The company is currently headquartered in Dallas. The most distinct symbol of Pizza Hut is the trademarked design of the restaurant's roof, which is painted red and slopes upward; the current design was adopted in 1969 with a makeover in 1999.
The most commonly sold food at Pizza Hut restaurants is the "Pan Pizza," which usually comes in three different sizes, in a variety of toppings (as well as "specialty" styles, including the Lover's Line and Supreme). Compared to most other commercially available pies, the Pan Pizza has a thicker, chewier crust, and a spicier tomato sauce.
Pizza Hut has several different types of crusts to complement the Pan Pizza, including Stuffed Crust (a thinner crust, with the outermost edge wrapped around a coil of string cheese), Hand-Tossed (closer to most traditional pizzeria crusts), and Thin 'N Crispy (Pizza Hut's original crust). Probably the most common criticism of Pizza Hut's pizzas is that the pies are too greasy. This is due to the vegetable oil used to keep the pan pizzas from sticking.
Other food items sold at many Pizza Huts include calzones ("P'zones"), buffalo wings, breadsticks, and cinnamon sticks. In the U.S., Canada, and most other countries, Pepsi and other soft drinks made by PepsiCo are served. Some serve beer. Most of the full-sized Pizza Hut restaurants also have a salad bar.
Smaller Pizza Hut Express outlets, offering a reduced version of the menu, appear in malls, airport terminals, department stores, hotels, cafeterias, gas stations, and other places.
Australia
In Australia, Pizza Hut has followed a different model: after an initial attempt to introduce Pizza Hut restaurants as in the United States and Britain, Australian Pizza Huts now generally operate as take out and delivery operations, with minimal seating. In Australia Soya Oil is used instead of vegetable oil for all pies. Barbecue sauce is available as an alternative to tomato as a topping base.