Pizza Hut is rolling out a new Detroit-style pizza nationwide that’s been developed and tested for over a year in Texas, at the company’s Plano headquarters.
Detroit-style pizza is rectangular in shape, identifiable because of the crispy, cheesy crust and the red sauce layered on top of the veggies, meat and cheese. Detroit-style pies had become trendy across Texas during the coronavirus pandemic, with several pizza companies in Dallas-Fort Worth selling Detroit-style pizzas by mid-2020. Some even used Instagram DMs as the only way customers could buy it.
The effort was timely, as pizza was a success story during the coronavirus pandemic, when customers seemed to crave comfort food that could be delivered to their homes.
It might seem as though Pizza Hut is cashing in on a popular pizza style that has now reached far beyond Detroit — and perhaps they are. But Pizza Hut has been developing its Detroit-style pie since before the pandemic, says a spokesman. Staffers tested over 500 versions of the pie.
“As we saw this trend continue to rise across the country, our customers were calling for a Detroit-style pizza from us,” the spokesman says. “As people obsessed with pizza, our fans expect that if there’s a big trend in pizza, we’ll have a take on it. So, we took the time to perfect our own handcrafted recipe, making sure we remained authentic to the signature style, while putting our unique spin on it.”
It’s now ready for “the masses,” as the spokesman puts it, and four Detroit-style pizzas are on the menu:
- Detroit double pepperoni, with 32 slices of regular pepperoni and 48 slices of “crispy cupped pepperoni,” which offer crunch
- Double cheesy: two types of cheese, no meat
- Meaty deluxe: bacon, Italian sausage and “crispy cupped pepperoni”
- Supremo: Italian sausage, red onions and green bell peppers
The medium-sized Detroit-style pizzas cost $10.99 to $12.99. They’re available for delivery, carryout or curbside pickup from every Pizza Hut location.
In November 2020, Pizza Hut began selling another trendy topping on its pizzas: plant-based “meat.”
