Pizza Chains

As pizza became one of the most loved foods in America the opportunities to become the next business to sell these pies flourished. In 1958 the Pizza Hut an American Restaurant chain was founded by Dan an Frank Carney. The chain was originally a red-roof family style location designed for dining-in, now there are locations that offer delivery, carry-out and dine-in options, and store front delivery and carry-out locations. The first franchise opened in 1959 in Kansas, and by 1972 there were 314 stores nationwide.

Little Caesars was founded in 1959 in Michigan by Michael and Marian Llitch. The company's Pizza! Pizza! Catchphrase was introduced in 1979, and refers to getting a single pizza at a price comparable to that of its competitors. In the 90s Little Caesars could be found in Kmart stores, they've since been replaced.

Two brothers, Tom Monagham and James purchased a small pizza store in Michigan. DomiNick's was renamed Domino's Pizza Inc. in 1965 by Tom Monagham who had become the sole owner after James had traded his half of the store to Tom eight months after they bought it. In 1978 Domino's opened its 200th store. Domino's 30 minute guarantee started in 1973.

Nolan Bushnell founded Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater in 1997, today it is called Chuck E. Cheese's it's a chain of family entertainment centers, but its primary focus is pizza.

Papa John's Pizza is said to be the third largest take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in America. John Schnatter, in 1983 bought out the other owner of the bar his father co-owned, and started serving pizza to customers. As of 2008 there were 3,300 Papa John's restaurants operating in all 50 US states, and in 2002 Papa John's became the first national pizza chain to make online ordering available.