Frank Carney, Rest in Peace

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One of Wichita's favorite sons has passed away. Frank, with his brother, Dan, was the co-founder of Pizza Hut. In 1958, they borrowed $800 from their mother to open a pizza restaurant in an empty building. Of course, it was a success. They started the first pizza franchise (Topeka). They also, for the first time, delivered pizzas from their Aggieville (near Kansas State University's campus) location. 

WeatherData, Inc. did a major project for Pizza Hut, Inc. when it was starting its national delivery business. We correlated weather, city-by-city, to orders for delivered pizzas. Some of the results were surprising. 

How did they come up with the name? It was all the letters that would fit on the sign!

They later moved the very first Pizza Hut building to the Wichita State University campus as a symbol of entrepreneurship. From time to time, Frank and Dan taught business seminars there. Both spent their lives in Wichita where Dan still lives. 

Rest in peace, Frank!


Addition: The Wall Street Journal's obituary is here. 

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