The Definitive Guide to Pizza Hut Classic Locations in Michigan

It's easy to make the case that Michigan gave the world the modern pizza chain. The assembly-line style, perhaps you'd call it, with chains like Domino's, Little Caesars, Jet's and Hungry Howie's all tracing a lineage to southeast Michigan.

But there's one pizza chain, arguably the largest and most influential of them all, that's from somewhere else: Pizza Hut. The chain was founded in Kansas before it became a global brand.

While Pizza Hut may not be from Michigan, the brand's footprint is everywhere. What may have gone somewhat unnoticed, however, is the Hut's many-decade slow transition away from the classic red-roofed restaurants so many remember.

In fact, the few retro Pizza Huts that remain have been rebranded as Pizza Hut Classic by the company. And there appear to be 5 Pizza Hut Classic locations in Michigan.

Where to Find Michigan's Classic Huts

Thanks to The Retrologist Substack run by Rolando Pujol, there is a full, as accurate as anyone has compiled, list of every Classic location of the chain with five located in Michigan. Here they are:

• Fremont, north of Grand Rapids
• Sandusky in the rural Thumb
• Traverse City and Charlevoix both in Northern Lower Michigan
• Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula

Each of the locations, save for Traverse City, carry the Pizza Hut Classic branding in their signage - at least as of the latest pass by of the Google Street View car. The locations pictured above are in Sandusky and Charlevoix.

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The most telling feature of a Pizza Hut classic is both the exterior and interior décor. While the red roof beckons outside, inside it's the, as The Retrologist terms it, "cozy red booths and old-school Pizza Hut lamps."

Pizza Hut RBDs vs Delcos

The Pizza Hut Classic concept fits into, what the Pizza Hut dedicated subreddit of Reddit classified as an RBD store. RBD stands for Restaurant Based Delivery meaning there is interior seating and a wait staff. Many Pizza Huts (as is a longstanding industry trend both in Pizza and fast/fast-casual dining) are what is termed Delco locations meaning delivery and carry-out.

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So should you find yourself travelling or perhaps living in a town with a Classic location, know that the red roofs still await those who long for the comforts of Pizza Huts of yore.