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Dan Carney Bio, Founder of Pizza Hut

Dan and Frank Carney (born 1931 and 1938, respectively) borrowed $600 from their mother in 1957 to open the first Pizza Hut -- so named because only three letters would fit on the sign after "Pizza." The MacDonald's brothers had demonstrated the potential earnings power of franchise restaurants, but rather than focus on the speed and efficiency of a reduced menu, the Carneys capitalized on the growing popularity of pizza, especially among teenagers, for whom it was a meal easily shared by a group. The Pizza Hut brand name was meant to indicate a certainly level of quality and consistency. The franchise began in Wichita and spread from there; many of the early franchisees were the Carneys old college friends and first employees.

The basic Pizza Hut building design originated in 1963, and the company went public in 1969. Two years later, it was the world's most successful pizza restaurant, and in 1977 it merged with Pepsi Co, along with Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken -- the other two market-dominating non-burger chains. Though Dan and Frank both remained with Pepsi at first, Frank left in 1980 -- and in 1994 became a franchisee of Papa John's Pizza, one of Pizza Hut's main competitors. Frank maintains that the pizza made by Pizza Hut today is no longer up to the same standard set by the family recipe used when the brothers opened in the 1950s.

Dan now spends much of his time on charity and civil service, including chairing the Board of Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas.

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