Grab a slice of Hallrich life

A pizza was just a pizza until Hallrich Incorporated brought one of Ohio's first Pizza Hut franchises to town and transformed pizza into a dining experience. One tiny Youngstown-area pizza parlor spawned a mighty Pizza Hut franchise of 136 locations in 38 Ohio counties, plus 9 restaurants in West Virginia, 4 in Pennsylvania, and 1 in Indiana.

Hallrich continues to be a leading edge company. Hallrich has made a more-than-modest contribution to Ohio's economic strength during its 49-year history. Today, Hallrich continues to employ nearly 3,000 individuals in a variety of service and management positions and has won the coveted People Excellence Award from parent company, Pizza Hut, Incorporated.

Winning this prestigious award starts with the humble beginnings of this slice of American business and life:

This is the story of Hallrich Incorporated. It is the story of two dynamic entrepreneurs, William G. Halls and A. Scott Ritchie and their hand-picked manager, A.E. Szambecki, who bought a modest franchise from a Wichita, Kansas based company and then steered it to incredible success in a brand new market...the culturally diverse Northeast Ohio area.

A small slice, but a huge opportunity

In 1965, A.E. Szambecki was hired as a dishwasher by Pizza Hut's Wichita, Kansas parent company. An 18-year old college student, he was paid 50-cents an hour. "I left a truck driving job that paid more," Szambecki recalls, "but the hours at Pizza Hut allowed me to continue my education."

When Szambecki joined Pizza Hut in Wichita, pizza wasn't the incredibly popular product it is today; there were fewer than a hundred Pizza Hut restaurants open nationwide. In those days, pizza was a simple business — most pizza shops catered to take-out orders only — and there wasn't much individuality to be found. Like its competitors, Pizza Hut's menu featured only three items: pizza, beer, and soft drinks.

Starting from the ground up, Szambecki worked through his "pizza apprenticeship." He learned to make pizzas, bus tables, and please customers. He continued to excel, soon moving into management and learning how to achieve maximum quality and profit.

Important pieces of the pie

In 1968, William G. Halls and A. Scott Ritchie bought a Pizza Hut franchise, with plans to open a franchised Pizza Hut in Austintown, just outside Youngstown. They enticed Szambecki to Ohio to run it. As Szambecki puts it, "They offered me twice the work for half the pay - what a deal!" but since the offer included an equity option, Szambecki accepted.

From the start, the relationship between the three men was a win/win situation. Halls and Ritchie correctly surmised that Szambecki's experience in training new franchise owners would be tremendously valuable to them. Szambecki had already written a training manual that had been used to train many of the early franchisees. Szambecki's restaurant management knowledge, the partners felt, would augment their own skills and assure the new company's success. For his part, Szambecki recognized an adventure when he saw one. He said goodbye to Wichita and drove 1,000 miles to Ohio.

Today: Pizza Hut reigns supreme

Hallrich fought hard to stay alive and continue to provide jobs in northeast Ohio throughout the last decade. In fact, the company lowered its base pizza prices in 2010 to assure pizza consumers could enjoy the highest quality pizza, wings, and pasta at an economical price.

But the pizzas are not the major story, at least not to Szambecki, who likes to reflect on the families whose lives have been touched by Hallrich. It's a long list, including not only the employees, but also their families; the construction and landscaping firms, the utility providers, and bankers who have built, serviced, and financed the more than 100 restaurants; as well as many others.

More significantly, Szambecki says: "It has been a source of great satisfaction to me that we've taught several generations of people how to work, how to handle people and problems, how to build a career. This is the accomplishment that means the most to me." Pizza Hut LLC's vision to pioneer new, quality products for their customers continues to help grow the business. In fact, Hallrich helped launch two new concepts; the Italian Bistro and WingStreet eateries. WingStreet proved more successful with the consumer, and has quickly become a favorite menu line. The Pizza Hut WingStreet menu offers a wide variety of wing flavors, wing meals sandwiches, and entrée salads.

Today, Hallrich Incorporated continues to grow and is proud of the increasingly popular products and services it offers today. Hallrich will continue to reinvest in the company and is committed to rebuilding and revitalizing the Pizza Hut brand. This new brand image includes new signage, remodeling, and a more contemporary restaurant décor.

Sharing a slice

This people-focused organization also gives back to each and every community it serves. Hallrich proudly supports the national reading program, BOOK IT!, offers fundraising programs for non-profits, as well as makes hot pizza donations to hot meal programs (having served over 20,000 slices of pizza in the last two years). Further, Hallrich donated 62,000 pounds of food to the Harvest Program in 2017. In 2010 and 2011, Hallrich aligned itself with Alex's Lemonade Stand foundation and has helped raised over $27,000 to help the fight against childhood cancer. In 2014, Hallrich Pizza Hut teams and generous guests raised $36,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2018 funds will be raised to support the Literacy Project in conjunction with the FirstBook non-profit organization which provides funds for reading materials for low-income families.

With all of the changes - past, present and future - Hallrich recognizes that people are their greatest asset and that commitment, quality, and exceptional service are the recipe for their success. The people complete the pie, pun intended! Join us!