Pizza Hut began franchising in what year?

Pizza Hut began franchising in 1959.

The company was only about a year old when it began allowing others to operate Pizza Hut restaurants under its brand. Dan and Frank Carney had opened their original Wichita restaurant in 1958, and the first Pizza Hut franchise followed in 1959 in Topeka, Kansas. That early move helped turn a local student-founded business into a scalable restaurant chain.

Franchising was central to Pizza Hut’s rapid growth. Within its first year, the company had expanded to six locations, and by 1963 it had 24. The model allowed local operators to invest in restaurants while following Pizza Hut’s branding, menu, and operating standards.

Several nearby dates can cause confusion. The chain was founded in 1958, its first franchise came in 1959, and the distinctive red-roof restaurant design was introduced later, in 1969. PepsiCo acquired the growing company in 1977, when Pizza Hut had more than 4,000 locations.