Pizza Hut has been a part of American life for decades, ever since Frank and Dan Carney and started offering its classic food back in 1958. Since then, it has served countless pizzas to hungry customers, with a virtually unlimited number of flavor and topping combinations. Arguably, the chain's heyday was during the 1970s.
This decade saw the last few years before Pizza Hut entered into a merger with PepsiCo in 1977, and its vibe changed from homely and rustic to the convenient, fast-moving eatery that it is today. Pre-merger, eating at Pizza Hut was a bit more like eating at your local Italian restaurant: The decor resembled that of a classic pizzeria, and it offered a number of menu items that it doesn't have today, like spaghetti and pitchers of beer. Its dough and ingredients were also treated differently.
In the years since, some ex-employees have pointed out the care that went into making the pizzas during this period. On the flip side, Pizza Hut's '70s menu was also missing some classic options that we know and love today. Let's take a trip back in time and see what it was really like to eat at the Hut during the decade of flares, boho dresses, and good old-fashioned pizza.
You could order beer by the pitcher These days, eating at Pizza Hut is typically a sober affair, but this wasn't always the case. In the '70s, Pizza Huts across the land stocked draft beer, alongside the restaurant's soft drinks, iced tea, and somewhat curiously, milk (which you could order in eithe.
