Pizza pizza

One of the first things the siblings and I did

was search out the original Pizza Hut.

I had read that the original Pizza Hut had been moved from its previous location

to where it sits today.

It originally sat at Kellogg and Bluff.  Once Kellogg was widened, interested friends didn't want to see it demolished, so they moved it to the Wichita State campus.

For years it sat in this location on the Wichita State University Campus.

Plans were completed in 2017 to turn this into a museum and build an entire area where it would be located.

It didn't move far, though.  An entire complex has now been built around it.  Check out the move in the less than two minute video below:

Moving the Hut
I was ready to see this museum in all its glory,

but once we got there, we immediately saw the museum was closed.  It was Sunday afternoon, so that may have been the reason.

It was definitely hard to see inside because of the windows that created a reflection over the interior.  It reminded me of digital art where layers had been used to create a unique entity.

I hate to admit it, but the children seemed to be able to read the information better than I.  They were all taller than I, which could be why.

I'm fairly certain most of you have heard of Pizza Hut.  You may have even eaten in one in whatever country you visited my blog from today.

However, you may not realize that the original Pizza Hut was born in Wichita, KS. (USA) when two brothers, Dan and Frank Carney, both students at Wichita State University (WSU), borrowed $600.00 (USD) from their mother to open the restaurant.

Two things happened nearly simultaneously that led to the start of this world wide pizza phenomenon.  First, a friend suggested Dan and Frank start a pizza restaurant geared to students because in 1958, their friend told the brothers that pizza was under utilized.  At that time, pizza was primarily served to, for, and by Italian emigrants, not to main stream America.  Second, a zealous bar owner was looking to find a tenant for her bar near campus.  Dan and Frank rented it and completely overhauled the space, by purchasing and adding second hand equipment.  The "restaurant" was so small it could only hold 25 people.

I loved how they showed one of the original tables and different style chairs.

Within six months, the restaurant was so popular, the brothers opened a second restaurant in Topeka, KS, again catering to college students.  Soon there were hundreds of Pizza Huts.  There are now nearly 19,000 franchises across 90 nations.  From their initial investment of $600.00 (USD), Dan and Frank sold the  franchise in 1977, which included over 4000 outlets, to PepsiCo for over $300 million (USD).

Both Dan and Frank still live in Wichita, KS.

Ironically, there are now many types of pizza sold at Pizza Hut, like pan and stuffed crust.  However, their “Thin 'N Crispy”which has a thin, crisp dough was Pizza Hut's original style.  It's the one I was introduced to as a young girl on a field trip (although it was to a red roof Pizza Hut).  I had no idea until years later that pizza should have anything except the wonderful thin crispy dough, but it seems harder and harder to find that type of dough in today's pizza market.  

There were lots of interesting facts the children read through the windows of the Pizza Hut Museum.

We had access to three sides of the building, but the fourth, this side, was covered with beautiful landscaping.

Next, we headed to an area where we could sit, rest, and contemplate.  The columns were dedicated to those contributors to this new area created just for the Pizza Hut Museum and surrounding area.

We then drove around the campus, looking at various sculptures.  Wichita State is known for its 76 beautiful sculptures, purchased by friends of WSU, Student Government Association funds, the Museum, and given as gifts by various artists.  Tomorrow we will look at one such beauty.

For those of you interested in my flower bed, here's what it looked like the day after we went to the WSU campus.  More rain was in the offing, too.

Thanks for joining the children and me when we visited the original Pizza Hut, now a museum, on the campus of Wichita State, which also happens to be my final alma mater.