THE MICHIGAN PIZZA HUT STORY.

Brothers Frank and Dan Carney in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas, opened the first Pizza Hut restaurant in 1958. After borrowing $600 from their mother and purchasing some second-hand equipment, they rented a small hut shaped building. After putting the word “pizza” on the sign they only had one room for three more letters. The wife of a friend made the word suggestion that lead to a now world famous trademark: “Pizza Hut”.

By 1972 Pizza Hut, Inc. was created on the New York Stock Exchange and had opened 1000 restaurants. That same year, St. Joseph, Michigan resident, Don White became a Pizza Hut Franchisee.  Four restaurants, located in St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, Niles and Norton Shores, were opened by the year-end.

Years of rapid growth, through building and acquisition, took place.  By 1989 Michigan Pizza Hut, Inc. had 41 restaurants open.  In May of 1989 Don White lost his battle with cancer.

Upon Don’s death ownership was transferred to the three people that Don trusted the most to carry on the legacy of MPH: His son, Jeff White, who began his Pizza Hut career in Dowagiac in 1984, Joyce Lunsford who had handled the accounting work since MPH was formed and Craig Erikson, who began his career as a cook at a company-owned location in Bloomington, Illinois in 1967.  In 1973 Craig joined MPH as an Area Supervisor in the Muskegon area and is now the President of MPH. 

In the year 2000 Jeff and Craig had the opportunity to acquire the ownership portion of MPH that was Joyce Lunsford’s and now are the two majority stockholders of the company.

In 2023 Michigan Pizza Hut, Inc has 37 Pizza Hut restaurants and most of the restaurants are along the Lake Michigan shoreline from Bridgman to Manistee. There is a large concentration of restaurants in Berrien (Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Niles, Stevensville, Buchanan… to name a few), Ottawa (Holland) and Muskegon counties, as well as in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Sault Ste Marie, Escanaba, Newberry, and Ishpeming).

Michigan Pizza Hut employs over 800 people in a variety of capacities and the majority of our Restaurant General Managers that run our restaurants were originally hired as cooks, drivers, servers, or phone operators. 

Michigan Pizza Hut has a 52-year history of growth and creation of career opportunities and the future promises more of the same.