The Biggest Pizza Chain In America Isn't Papa John's, Domino's, Or Pizza Hut

When the weekend rolls around and your mind — and tummy — start turning to thoughts of Friday night pizza, leading chains like Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's may be among the first options that spring to mind for getting that takeout or dine-in pie. But while these household names are some of the best-known pizza brands in the United States, the title of biggest pizza chain in America actually goes to a lesser-known franchise called Hunt Brothers Pizza.

A company founded by four brothers in 1991, Hunt Brothers boasts more than 10,000 U.S. locations as of October 2025, while Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's lag thousands behind. Pizza Hut weighs in at 6,572 U.S. and U.S. territory locations, while Domino's has just over 7,000, and Papa John's only has about 6,000 total worldwide locations.

If you haven't heard of Hunt Brothers Pizza, one likely reason is that it's not a chain of standalone restaurants — it's a convenience store brand. In terms of sitting down and ordering your pizza in a restaurant setting, complete with table service and a waiter, you can't. The company's locations are to be found in gas stations, grocery stores, and the like. There are even Hunt Brothers kiosks located inside establishments like ice cream businesses and sports venues. The company's pizza stands are designed for quick, convenient grab-and-go dining that can be accomplished concurrent with other tasks, such as filling one's gas tank or stopping for groceries.

For customers, the ability to get a hot, freshly made pie while they pump their gas or stop for a restroom break is an attractive prospect. Gas station fare is often limited to things like bagged snacks and premade sandwiches that come on a delivery truck — they aren't freshly made onsite. But Hunt Brothers Pizza stands can serve guests around the clock with piping hot pizza made to order. There are breakfast pizzas for the morning crowd, pizza by the slice for lunch customers, chicken wings and WingBites for those seeking a snack, and full-sized, customized pizzas to accommodate dinnertime traffic. A further attraction is patrons can choose whatever they like from among Hunt Brothers' 10 pizza toppings at no extra charge.

Other fast-food chains have similarly found success forgoing the standard restaurant approach in favor of nontraditional formats. Included among them are Wienerschnitzel, which announced its entrance into Walmart food courts in 2025, and Subway, the fast food chain with the most U.S. locations, which has been foraying more and more into alternative sites like shared retail spaces, gas stations, airports, and big box stores.