Pizza for the people

When their first handmade pizza rolled out of the family garage in 1976, the Hunt Brothers had one goal: to connect with their neighbors.

Today, Hunt Brothers Pizza is one of Paris' largest employers and its pizza is for sale at more than 9,000 locations across 30 states. The company is still expanding, reaching even more neighbors, be they 10 miles or 1,000 miles away.

Erin Ferguson, daughter of company co-founder Jim Hunt, leads distribution, overseeing the connections between the company's offices in Paris and store owners and managers.
Many rural communities are food deserts, places where fresh food is often not available. Hunt Brothers brings freshly-made goodness, one slice at a time.

"The store owners trust us with their business, which forms an even deeper connection," Erin says.

That connection is embodied by account manager and delivery driver Chris Linville. Every Wednesday before sunrise, Chris climbs into an 18-wheeler and delivers pizza to stores in Central Kentucky.

“This is my route, my towns, my people,” Linville says. “You definitely form a bond with them.”
That bond is evident with each delivery, and Linville sees people on good days and challenging days. Recently, he lended a sympathetic ear as a customer discussed her mom's brain aneurysm. He gets to know them on a deeply personal level.

And, while bonding with customers, he's fulfilling the legacy that the Hunt Brothers started more than 50 years ago – taking care of neighbors.