Vintage Pizza Hut "Brown Roof"

[Ephrata1966]

This commercial got me thinking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdK9j-J4au4

I remember seeing two vintage Pizza Huts, one in South Carolina and one in North Carolina, on a trip from Texas in 1969 or 1970. Don't remember which was which, but one was a common "Red Roof" and the other had a brown roof. Would anyone know where this was? Or if it just might still be open? This one was larger than the one in the commercial (slightly later design?) and was like an exact clone of most of the "Red Roofs", but brown! I have considered making a special trip to North Carolina just to hunt down that place!

Also, why did some Pizza Hut sit-downs have beer, but not others?

[Dean]

I assume the red tile roof replaced the wood shake (brown) shingle roof over time...with the red symbolizing the chain. Also, in California, due to fires, I assume the shake shingle roofs were banned.

This is a great thread to add...as it is funny to see former Pizza Huts functioning as other facilities. As pizza became more take-out versus sit-down, Pizza Hut expanded their sites to add solely take-out stores, versus the complete restaurant sites.

A few former full-service sites that immediately come to mind include:

La Habra CA (Beach Boulevard near Lambert)=Mexican Restaurant
Whittier CA (Whittier Boulevard near Beach Boulevard)=Chinese Restaurant
Highland CA (Highland Avenue near Boulder)=Had been a Mongolian BBQ. I believe now vacant.

The YouTube commercial listed above made me laugh. Made me think of Dustin Hoffman driving along the California coast in The Graduate!

[Ephrata1966]

Believe it or not, a certain Pizza Hut in Leesburg, VA still uses a pylon sign shaped like the one in the commercial, but with their current logo! There also is a vegetarian restaurant called "Sunflower" in nearby Falls Church, VA that is another refreshing new use for one of these buildings. Not sure but I think another Pizza Hut/Sunflower exists in Kansas.

I have a funny feeling the idea for that commercial was ripped off The Beatles!

[Super S]

As recently as 6 or 7 years ago, I remember seeing a couple of very old Pizza hut signs in Salem, Oregon, which read at the bottom "Nationally Famous Restaurant" I believe one of these was located somewhere along Lancaster, and the other was located in a different area of town, possibly Commercial Street. I have not been into those parts of Salem in several years though, so can't say if either of these still exist.

I have seen a few Pizza Hut buildings which use red corrugated metal roofing which would be more fire resistant.

As for not all restaurants serving beer, it might have to do with local laws, as well as the individual franchise owners. I have seen instances where some Denny's served beer and even had cocktail lounges, then when ownership changed, they closed the cocktail lounge and took beer off the menu.

Oddly enough, I have not seen a new-build standalone Pizza Hut in years, at least in the Pacific Northwest. I have only seen carry-out versions in strip malls, and the occasional combo in an existing Taco Bell or KFC.

[Ephrata1966]

I have seen instances where some Denny's served beer and even had cocktail lounges, then when ownership changed, they closed the cocktail lounge and took beer off the menu.

Where were these? Tell me please! You just reminded me of a Denny's with a cocktail lounge in Vineland NJ that I saw so many years ago!

Pizza Hut serves beer at their Lebanon and Lancaster restaurants in PA. I think the one in Hershey (now a real estate office) did until it closed.

[Dean]

Side bar with Denny's bars...and then back to Pizza Hut!

The Denny's on 7th Avenue in Hacienda Heights CA had a large cocktail lounge for years. It even had a back entrance.

Story I heard was that it was too rowdy. Area was converted to general seating.

[wnetmacman]

I have seen a few Pizza Hut buildings which use red corrugated metal roofing which would be more fire resistant.

It was cheaper. The shake roof is harder to place, and more expensive.

As for not all restaurants serving beer, it might have to do with local laws, as well as the individual franchise owners.

This is true. I worked for a Pizza Hut that did not serve beer, but another restaurant from the same franchisee had another location two towns over that did. Our town was bone dry.

Oddly enough, I have not seen a new-build standalone Pizza Hut in years, at least in the Pacific Northwest. I have only seen carry-out versions in strip malls, and the occasional combo in an existing Taco Bell or KFC.

I believe Yum Brands has found a lack of value in a sit down store. In Lafayette, LA, they acquired a Pizza Inn, and remodeled it without a buffet line or salad bar. They had to add it in later because they didn't get any sit down business.

[Ephrata1966]

It was cheaper. The shake roof is harder to place, and more expensive.

As for not all restaurants serving beer, it might have to do with local laws, as well as the individual franchise owners.

This is true. I worked for a Pizza Hut that did not serve beer, but another restaurant from the same franchisee had another location two towns over that did. Our town was bone dry.

I thought plenty of Pizza Hut sit-downs (at least in recent years) were dry, in all kinds of towns. That can be hard to tell if you don't go inside or maybe even ask for a cold one. In the movie "The Bad News Bears" from 1976, Walter Matthau downs a Pizza Hut beer, complete with their logo on the glass! The place still had the old logo on the outside if I remember correctly. This movie was set in LA.

Also, does anyone remember a kid's math board game called "Pizza Party", from a Pizza Hut promotion in the 80's? The logo was a variation on the Pizza Hut script, and it came in a small pizza box.

And what is "MRO Restaurant Group" that this page speaks of?: http://www.lpre.com/html/surplus_disposition.html This page looks exactly like it did in 2002. I actually found it looking for info on the empty Pizza Hut in the picture. That was in Holmes/Ridley PA across from the Woolco/A&P-anchored MacDade "Mall" (shopping center), where part of "The Lovely Bones" was filmed. The "mall" was built in 1969, and I imagine Pizza Hut was at the same time. But the signpost must be from later. The place closed around 2000 and was empty until 2005 when the "Italian Delight" restaurant moved there from the mall when the mall closed. I know they have beer. Would the roof here have been red at one time? (I never saw this one open.) Because it looks like they got rid of the top of the roof after it closed.

[wnetmacman]

And what is "MRO Restaurant Group" that this page speaks of?

Many Pizza Hut franchisees are large scale; they own more than 10 units, and in some cases, multiple restaurant brands. The Pizza Hut I worked for from 1990-1993 was owned by a company that owned 147 restaurants; at that time they were the largest franchisee in the chain. During my time there, the owner sold all the restaurants back to PH Corporate.

[Ephrata1966]

Thanks! I figured but was not sure. Pizza Hut had dozens of units just like this one throughout the Philadelphia area. The ones in Cheltenham and Pottstown are empty right now. There was actually a franchise manager I heard about who owned 25 of them. Something happened and he declared "screw it, I quit" and his organization closed. I believe the local Hardee's franchise was owned by Acme at one time. Most Hardee's in the area started as Gino's Hamburgers, then were Roy Rogers, after Hardee's were Boston Market (owned by McDonald's), many of which closed and are now Dunkin' Donuts. What is strange is that these became Hardee's in 1990, and the pylon sign they were using at the time had a very similar shape to the 70's Pizza Hut ones. There was a Pizza Hut/Burger King franchisee in Philadelphia called Duckrey Enterprises which was an early African American-owned group started in 1974. Sadly it went under in 2004. I knew a Burger King they owned which closed overnight, and was soon torn down for a bank.

[Brian Lutz]

Here is the most recent new-build full service Pizza Hut I know of around here, which seems to be of roughly late 90s vintage. Anything newer than this around here is take-out/delivery only in a strip mall.

And on the side note, there is at least one Denny's around here that still has a cocktail lounge with a separate entrance here. I believe it also has an entrance from inside the building, but I'm not entirely sure of that.

[Ephrata1966]

Not really on topic, but are you related to Bob Lutz from GM by any chance?

[Brian Lutz]

Not really on topic, but are you related to Bob Lutz from GM by any chance?

Not that I know of. It's a fairly common German surname, from what I understand.

[Super S]

I have seen instances where some Denny's served beer and even had cocktail lounges, then when ownership changed, they closed the cocktail lounge and took beer off the menu.

Where were these? Tell me please! You just reminded me of a Denny's with a cocktail lounge in Vineland NJ that I saw so many years ago!

Pizza Hut serves beer at their Lebanon and Lancaster restaurants in PA. I think the one in Hershey (now a real estate office) did until it closed.

I don't want to veer too much off topic, but to answer your question, several Denny's in the Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR area served beer AND had cocktail lounges. A.C. Green acquired many of these locations and the cocktail lounges closed shortly after, and I believe beer was taken off the menu. His restaurants went downhill and all of the Vancouver locations eventually closed.

Back to Pizza Hut...Several of the traditional sit-down type closed in Vancouver during the late 1990s, and I believe there is only one of these remaining on Highway 99 in Hazel Dell. I can't say whether any of the Vancouver locations served beer or not.

The only locations around here I believe could have recently had the "brown roof" were the Salem locations mentioned, however, I paid more attention to the old signs than the buildings themselves. Pizza Hut does not have a lot of market penetration in this area, and they are far from my first choice for pizza.

[tkaye]

As recently as 6 or 7 years ago, I remember seeing a couple of very old Pizza hut signs in Salem, Oregon, which read at the bottom "Nationally Famous Restaurant" I believe one of these was located somewhere along Lancaster, and the other was located in a different area of town, possibly Commercial Street. I have not been into those parts of Salem in several years though, so can't say if either of these still exist.

Comparing the Google Street Viewwith the Bing Bird's Eye View of the Lancaster Drive location, the restaurant building has been torn down to make way for a Starbucks drive-thru but the trapezoidal sign frame remains.

The Commercial Street restaurant is still there, but the sign has been completely replaced.