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Once, Pizza Hut was the favorite for parents and children to indulge in its all-you-can-eat buffet, unlimited salad bar, and ice cream with toppings.

However not as many patrons are choosing the brand nowadays, and it is shutting down a significant portion of its UK restaurants after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains one London shopper. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” Today, as a young adult, she states “it's no longer popular.”

For young customer Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it seems as if they are lowering standards and have lower standards... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

As ingredient expenses have soared, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become quite costly to operate. As have its restaurants, which are being cut from 132 to just over 60.

The business, in common with competitors, has also experienced its operating costs increase. In April this year, employee wages increased due to increases in the legal wage floor and an higher rate of employer national insurance contributions.

Two diners mention they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they get delivery from another pizza brand and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

According to your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are comparable, explains an industry analyst.

While Pizza Hut does offer takeaway and deliveries through external services, it is losing out to major competitors which solely cater to the delivery sector.

“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the off-premise pizza industry thanks to intensive advertising and constantly running deals that make consumers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the base costs are quite high,” notes the specialist.

Yet for these customers it is acceptable to get their evening together brought to their home.

“We absolutely dine at home now more than we eat out,” explains Joanne, matching latest data that show a drop in people frequenting quick-service eateries.

During the summer months, informal dining venues saw a notable decrease in diners compared to the previous year.

Moreover, a further alternative to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, head of leisure and hospitality at a leading firm, explains that not only have retailers been providing good-standard oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even offering countertop ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also having an impact in the popularity of fast-food chains,” states the expert.

The increased interest of protein-rich eating plans has boosted sales at poultry outlets, while reducing sales of dough-based meals, he notes.

As people visit restaurants not as often, they may look for a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more dated than luxurious.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last several years, for example popular brands, has “dramatically shifted the public's perception of what excellent pie is,” says the food expert.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a few choice toppings, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's caused Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.

“What person would spend a high price on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a chain when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

An independent operator, who operates a small business based in Suffolk says: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

Dan says his adaptable business can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it failed to adapt with new customer habits.

According to Pizzarova in a city in southwest England, the proprietor says the industry is broadening but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“There are now by-the-slice options, regional varieties, new haven, sourdough, traditional Italian, rectangular – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any sense of nostalgia or attachment to the company.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's customer base has been divided and spread to its more modern, agile alternatives. To keep up its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to charge more – which industry analysts say is difficult at a time when household budgets are tightening.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's international markets said the acquisition aimed “to protect our customer service and retain staff where possible”.

The executive stated its immediate priority was to maintain service at the open outlets and takeaway hubs and to help employees through the change.

Yet with large sums going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to allocate significant resources in its delivery service because the sector is “difficult and working with existing third-party platforms comes at a cost”, commentators say.

However, it's noted, cutting its costs by leaving competitive urban areas could be a smart move to adjust.