Hungry Howie's Pizza facts for kids
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A (now closed) Hungry Howie's Pizza in Athens, Ohio
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Trade name
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Hungry Howie's Pizza |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | Taylor, Michigan (1973) |
| Founder | James Hearn |
| Headquarters | Madison Heights, Michigan |
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Key people
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James R. Hearn (founder) Steven E. Jackson (CEO) |
| Products | Pizza |
| Revenue | $280.0 million (2009) |
Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs, Inc., often called Hungry Howie's Pizza, is a big pizza company in the United States. It is the 11th largest pizza chain. There are more than 550 Hungry Howie's locations across the country. They sell many delicious foods. These include pizza, calzone-style subs, chicken wings, bread, salads, and cookies. The main office for Hungry Howie's is in Madison Heights, Michigan. This city is part of Metro Detroit.
Contents
The Story of Hungry Howie's Pizza
How it All Started
The first Hungry Howie's opened in 1973. It was started by James Hearn. The very first store was on Telegraph Road in Taylor, Michigan. At that time, Steve Jackson worked for James Hearn. He delivered pizzas to customers.
Growing into a Franchise
The pizza place quickly became popular. Many students from nearby schools loved to hang out there. James Hearn and Steve Jackson decided to work together. In 1982, they chose to let other people open Hungry Howie's stores. This is called franchising. The very first Hungry Howie's franchise opened in 1983.
How Hungry Howie's Grew
The company grew very fast. In just three years, 65 new locations opened. By 1990, there were 160 Hungry Howie's stores. In 2005, the company opened its 500th store. Today, there are over 550 Hungry Howie's locations. You can find them in 22 different states.
Discovering Flavored Crust Pizza
The Idea for Flavored Crust
Hungry Howie's is famous for its "Flavored Crust Pizza." This special idea came from one of their store owners. This owner put sesame seeds and butter on their pizza crusts. James Hearn and Steve Jackson thought this was a great idea.
Trying Out New Flavors
The company started to test different flavors. They tried them out in a few stores first. In 1985, they officially launched eight different flavored crusts. This made their pizzas unique and very popular.
Current Flavors You Can Try
Today, you can choose from several tasty crust flavors. These include butter, butter cheese, asiago cheese, ranch, cajun, sesame, garlic herb, and Italian herb. The Italian herb flavor replaced the onion crust in 2023. You can even mix and match different crust flavors to create your own special pizza!
Love, Hope & Pizza Campaign
Helping a Good Cause
Since 2009, Hungry Howie's has worked to help others. They support the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). Their special campaign is called "Love, Hope & Pizza." This campaign helps raise money and awareness for breast cancer.
Pink Boxes and Donations
Every October, Hungry Howie's uses pink pizza boxes. For every pizza sold in a pink box, they donate money to the NBCF. By September 2020, Hungry Howie's had donated over $3 million to the foundation. That's a lot of help!
Supporting During Tough Times
From September 28 to October 29, 2020, Hungry Howie's made a special promise. They donated money from every pizza sold in a pink box to the NBCF's COVID-19 relief fund. Customers could also donate online for the rest of 2020.
See also
