when did pizza hut start charging for delivery
Pizza delivery Domino's Pizza is credited with popularizing free pizza delivery in the United States.[7] Pizza Hut began experimenting in 1999 with a 50-cent delivery charge in ten stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.[8] By mid-2001 it was implemented in 95% of its 1,749 company-owned restaurants in the U.S., and in a smaller number of its 5,250 franchisee-owned restaurants.[9] By 2002, a small percentage of stores owned or franchised by U.S. pizza companies Domino's and Papa John's were also charging delivery fees of 50 cents to $1.50, and some of Little Caesar's franchisees charged delivery fees.[9] In 2005, Papa John's implemented delivery charges in the majority of its company-owned stores.[10]
Chuck E. Cheese's Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California, was the first location to open on May 17, 1977.[5][6][7][8] The concept was authored by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, credited with bringing video games such as Pong to the mainstream. The Pizza Time Theatre was the first family restaurant to integrate food, animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade.[3] Following a filing for bankruptcy, the chain was acquired by competitor Showbiz Pizza Place in 1984, forming Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc.[9] In 1990, the company began unifying the two brands with the goal of renaming every location to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza.[10][11] They redesigned the logo in 1994, dropping Pizza from each store's name.[9] In 1998, Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. became CEC Entertainment, Inc.[9] As of 2017, 523 Chuck E. Cheese stores are open.[1][2]