Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. It grew to become the largest pizza chain in the world by the 1970s, operating over 1,000 locations. In 1977, Pizza Hut merged with PepsiCo and became a division of the large food and drink conglomerate. Today, Pizza Hut is owned by Yum! Brands and operates over 15,000 locations worldwide, serving pizza and other Italian dishes.