The Story Behind Michigan’s First Pizza Hut Location

Michigan is known for pizza. Sure, people may not think of Michigan pizza as often as they think of New York or Chicago-style pies, but we have our unique variations.

Of course, there's Detroit-style, which was made famous by chains like Buddy's and Jet's. We also have Monroe-style, which I just learned about a few months ago. Michigan is also the birthplace of famous chains Little Caesars, Domino's, and Hungry Howie's.

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It's not surprising that it took a while for other chains to move into the Mitten State, and one of those chains, Pizza Hut, had its first Michigan restaurant right here in Grand Rapids.

Michigan's First Pizza Hut Location

They say that "no one outpizzas the hut," but it was eight years after Pizza Hut's founding that the chain opened its first Michigan location.

READ MORE: This is the Sexiest Former Pizza Hut Building in Michigan

The first iconic red-roofed pizza restaurant in Michigan popped up on 28th St. in Wyoming back in 1966. The roof shape was the same back then as it is now.

The restaurant officially opened to the public on August 25, 1966, and was located at 132 28th St. SW. Fun fact - it's still there!

In an ad in the Grand Rapids Press a month after the restaurant opened, they encouraged diners to "phone ahead for faster service". Saying that folks needed to allow roughly 20 minutes for their pizzas to be ready.

READ MORE: The Great Michigan Pizza Funeral of 1973

A little over a year later, a second Grand Rapids location (the fourth in Michigan, according to the Wyoming Michigan History Room) opened up on Plainfield Ave. (That one is still there, too.)

Early Prices at Pizza Hut in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Looking at the pricing (at least with a coupon) for pizzas back then is crazy. Coupons that were printed in the Grand Rapids Press in 1970 offered holders a large pizza for only $2 and a small pizza for just $1.

In 1968, the 28th St. location introduced a "smorgasbord" every Tuesday (during certain hours) for just $1.45 (kids under nine were only $0.90). That feast (at such a cheap price) offered up "all you can eat and drink."

28th St. Pizza Hut Was Denied a Liquor License

The "and drink" was pretty limited back then, though. According to the Wyoming Michigan History Room, the 28th St. Pizza Hut was denied a liquor license. Why? Well, because of the size of the building. The city of Wyoming had a rule that you couldn't obtain a liquor license if your establishment couldn't seat 50 people or more.

These days, you can find at least eight Pizza Huts in the greater Grand Rapids area. (And several buildings around town, like the Playstation Pub on Leonard St., that very obviously used to be a Pizza Hut.)