Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita, Kansas by brothers Frank and Dan Carney, who borrowed $600 from their mother to open a pizzeria. It started franchising in 1959, became the largest pizza chain in the world by 1971, and was bought by PepsiCo in 1977.
PepsiCo would spin off its restaurants in 1997 as Tricon Global Restaurants, which five years later became Yum Brands. Nevertheless, the Plano, Texas-based pizza chain has been part of that organization, in one form or another, for 50 years.
That appears likely to come to an end soon. On Tuesday, Yum Brands announced that it was exploring strategic options for its pizza concept, including a possible sale. That typically means a sale is likely…