In what year was the first Pizza Hut opened?

The first Pizza Hut opened in 1958, when brothers Dan and Frank Carney launched the chain in Wichita, Kansas. Both were students at Wichita State University, and their mother provided a $600 loan to help them start the small restaurant.

The original location opened on May 31, 1958. Its name was chosen partly for practical reasons: the sign available to the brothers could accommodate only eight letters, making “Pizza Hut” a convenient fit. The business expanded quickly, opening a second restaurant six months later and six locations within its first year.

Pizza Hut began franchising in 1959, helping it grow beyond Kansas. Its familiar red-roof building style appeared later, in the 1960s, and eventually became a major part of the brand's visual identity.

A common mix-up is confusing the founding year with later expansion milestones. Pizza Hut's first restaurant was in Wichita; its first location east of the Mississippi River did not open until 1966, in Athens, Ohio.