In what city did the first Pizza Hut restaurant open in 1958?

The first Pizza Hut restaurant opened in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958.

Brothers Dan and Frank Carney founded Pizza Hut while they were students at Wichita State University. Their mother lent them $600 to start the business, and they opened a small restaurant on South Bluff Street with partner John Bender. The original location was compact, seating only a handful of customers, and its name reflected the limited space available for the sign.

Pizza Hut expanded through franchising and became one of the world’s best-known pizza chains. The first restaurant’s modest size contrasts with the chain’s later “red roof” buildings and international scale. A common mix-up is confusing Pizza Hut’s Wichita origin with Domino’s, which began in Ypsilanti, Michigan, under a different name.

The original building was later moved to the Wichita State campus, where it serves as a historic reminder of the brand’s beginnings.