Pizza Hut Classic: A Guide to the Red Roof Revival

By the numbers

Calculated from the live directory each hour, so these figures change as locations are added or close.

Classic locations

175

States

27

In Texas

29

Median miles to the next one

33

Texas has the most, with 29 locations across 29 cities. For a typical location, the next-closest classic is about 33 miles away in a straight line, which puts two or three within a day's drive in most of the Midwest and South. The most isolated is Homosassa Springs, FL, about 316 miles from the nearest other classic in Eatonton, GA.

How the revival started

The revival came from franchisees, not headquarters. About a decade ago Pizza Hut was moving away from its red roof dining rooms as part of a $130 million push toward delivery, carryout and technology. Tim Sparks, president of the franchise operator Daland Corp., went the other way. He completed two of the first five classic retrofits in the country in January 2018 and has since done 38 of them. He told Franchise Times that customer reaction was “off the chart” and that his restored stores average more than $1.2 million in sales, above the chain average for dine-in locations.

Other operators followed. By the time Yum promoted the program, franchisees had retrofitted more than 150 restaurants in 27 states. Sourcing the original fixtures has been one of the harder parts. Tiffany-style lamps in particular were scarce until the retrofits drew enough attention for suppliers to start making them again.

Where the red roof came from

Brothers Frank and Dan Carney opened the first Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958. The roof came about a decade later. In 1969, as the chain expanded, the founders asked Wichita architect Richard D. Burke to design a building that would stand out from competitors. They could not afford his upfront fee, so they offered him $100 for every restaurant built to his design. Pizza Hut has described the result as “a fusion of common sense, the architectural taste of the 1950s, and a need for the design to be both remarkable and appealing in a variety of locations.”

Thousands of red roof buildings went up over the next three decades. Many later became other businesses when Pizza Hut shifted toward delivery. That is why so many former Pizza Huts are still recognizable today by the roof alone.

What to expect inside

Every Classic location has a dining room, which many modern Pizza Huts no longer offer. Beyond that, the details vary by franchisee and building. Features reported across the program include:

• Red roof exterior, either original or restored
• Red plastic tumblers and pitchers of soda
• Red-and-white checkered tablecloths and vinyl booths
• Tiffany-style stained-glass pendant lamps
• A salad bar at some locations
• Classic arcade cabinets at some locations

Not every location has every feature. If a salad bar or arcade is the reason you are going, call ahead. If you visit one, send us photos and notes so we can record what each location actually has.

Planning a visit

• Check hours before a long drive. These are working franchise restaurants, and dining-room hours can be shorter than delivery hours.
• Use Street View to preview the building. Every location page links to it. Some Classic locations have the interior treatment inside a newer building.
• Chain a few together. Each location page lists the nearest other classics with distances and a route link.
• Report changes. If a location has closed or dropped the retro look, use the Flag link on its page.