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Brothers Frank and Dan Carney took advantage of the "pizza craze" sweeping the country by opening the first Pizza Hut in Wichita on June 15, 1958. A year later the first franchise opened in Topeka, and the move to become a national chain was on.
One of the first symbols of the company was "Pizza Hut Pete," shown here in the form of a bank that was a promotional giveaway to customers. "Pete" was used by the company into the mid-1970s, when the familiar red roof logo began to appear. "Pete" might have outlived his usefulness, or perhaps he was seen as too much of an Italian stereotype to be an effective image for the company.
Creator: Pizza Hut
Date: between 1960 and 1969
Item Number: 215663
KSHS Identifier: 1989.33.106
Business and Industry - Services - Food and drink - Restaurants
Collections - Museum
Curriculum - The Kansas Journey - Chapter 11: A Changing Society, A Modern World
Date - 1960s
Objects and Artifacts - Recreational Artifacts - Toy - Bank, Still
People - Notable Kansans - Carney, Dan, 1931-
People - Notable Kansans - Carney, Frank, 1938-
Places - Cities and towns - Wichita
Places - Counties - Sedgwick
Thematic Time Period - The Sixties and Vietnam, 1961 - 1975
Type of Material - Objects and Artifacts
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/215663