Many Americans see the battle for the dominant pizza chain as between Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s and maybe Little Caesar’s.
But there is actually another one that has thousands more locations than any of those.
A step ahead is Hunt Brothers Pizza, which is only present in 36 states but has 9,703 branches in more than 4,000 cities.
In February, Hunt Brothers became the largest pizza chain in the United States.
It has achieved this by quietly dominating the convenience store and gas station market.
Hunt Brothers Pizza has 9,703 locations in more than 4,000 cities across the United States.
Rather than having its own brick-and-mortar restaurants like its rivals, Hunt Brothers benefits from collective foot traffic by sharing a space with other businesses.
The chain offers ten different toppings and the modest price ranges from $10 to $12, depending on the location.
For those getting up early for a road trip, the chain even offers a breakfast pizza with scrambled eggs, crispy chopped bacon, crumbled breakfast sausage and cheese.
Hunt Brothers also offers boneless chicken wings and WingBites in four different flavors: Home Style, Buffalo, Southern Style and Hot ‘n Spicy.
The franchise was started by the four original Hunt brothers, Don, Charlie, Jim and Lonnie in 1991.
The largest pizza chain in the United States remains family-owned and has even secured sponsorships from the likes of NASCAR driver Joey Logano.
The second largest chain, Domino’s Pizza, has 6,929 branches nationwide.
Its largest presence is in Texas, where there are no less than 742 branches throughout the state.
Pizza Hut followed closely in third place with 6,775 locations across the United States.
While both have fewer locations, their profits are much higher. Pizza Hut offers in-restaurant service and both offer home delivery.
Meanwhile, a recent survey ranked the best cities for pizza in the United States.
New York and Chicago typically rank high, and Detroit has led the way the past two years.
Hunt Brothers quietly dominated the convenience store and gas station market.
Domino’s and Pizza Hut ranked second and third in terms of size respectively.
But it was Denver, Colorado, that claimed to be the best city for pizza, according to a comprehensive study that looked at EIGHT measures.
In short, researchers at Smart Real Estate Typical price, number of restaurants and their ratings, and a score called “passion for pizza” were taken into account.
Among them, the Mile High City topped 50 of the largest U.S. metropolises.
New York also received an unwanted accolade: the most expensive pizzas in the United States, where a large pepperoni costs almost $34.