Pizza Hut Has Its Own Museum in Wichita

Almost everyone loves pizza, and most people show it by eating it—often and in large quantities. If you’re a student at the Wichita State University, pizza takes on a much more meaningful status, though, one that deserves extra reverence. This college is, arguably, the birthplace of a franchise central to the American pizza place psyche: Pizza Hut. To honor that history, the faculty and staff of the school have opened a museum dedicated to the chain’s history.

This hallowed institution is not the upcoming Museum of Pizza, which will open in New York City this fall, but rather a much more educational take on the recent food-themed exhibit phenomenon. The Pizza Hut museum at the Wichita State University is actually an ode to Dan and Frank Carney, brothers who converted a nearby, old tavern into the original Pizza Hut location in 1958.

Looks like the university’s efforts to pay tribute to this American institution really paid off. According to the Associated Press, Dan Carney actually attended the museum’s opening, commenting that his alma mater “did a great job,” on the exhibit.

The museum’s exhibition includes the recipe for the original Pizza Hut pizza sauce—which the brothers apparently wrote on a napkin—as well as pictures of the brothers, and the original location’s work schedule. However, the museum’s curator says that the items featured in the exhibit will rotate every six months, so if you’re in the area and plan to stop by, expect plenty of Pizza Hut memorabilia to be on hand.

In the modern age, Pizza Hut has been keeping pace with the increasingly extravagant marketing tactics of other chains: The chain has begun delivering beer and wine, and this basketball season saw another iteration of its pizza-ordering sneakers. In order to compete with other giants like Dominos, the company also promised to add 14,000 more drivers to its line-up last year, getting your pizza to you faster, which is all we really want from these chains in the long run.

Update 4/27: The museum is located at Wichita State University. The text has been updated.