When you think of pizza chains, you probably think about Pizza Hut or Domino’s, but the biggest in the U.S. is actually one you may have never heard of: Hunt Brothers Pizza.

As of 2024, there are 9,703 Hunt Brothers locations. Despite this, it is only present in 36 states, mainly in the South and Midwest, and operates on a different business model.

Hunt Brothers began as Pepe's Pizza in 1962, which sold pizza ingredients to local businesses. In 1991, Hunts Brothers opened and expanded on their wholesale distribution concept.

Instead of distributing the ingredients for pizza, they started selling whole, par-baked pizzas and the equipment needed to make them. This atypical model was wildly successful.

The final stroke of brilliance from the Hunts was to target rural areas unserved by other major pizza chains. Today, Hunt Brothers has a cult following of sorts in the South.