Buffets, birthdays and brown paper bags – three memories that made Pizza Hut so iconic in the UK.
Brits were hit by a wave of nostalgia this week when the famous chain announced it would be closing restaurants after its operating firm DC London Pie plunged into administration.
It means around 75 branches could be closed with 741 jobs at risk.
The UK’s first Pizza Hut restaurant opened in Islington in 1973 – just two years after it became the world’s most popular pizza restaurant.
Many of us will have fond memories of piling as many slices of stuffed crust pizza onto a plate or going wild with the self-service ice cream machine.
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But with dwindling popularity and the rise of more upmarket brands like Franco Manca, where did it go wrong for Pizza Hut?
Beginning the brand
Pizza Hut’s first restaurant was opened in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958 by two college-aged brothers. The Carneys built their brand on family-friendly dining and a menu with close links to the farmers growing the ingredients.
Recognition grew as their branches popularised a distinctive red roof and in 1971 they became the number one pizza restaurant chain globally in sales and number of locations.
Its arrival in the UK accelerated in the 1980s when Pizza Hut opened an average of one restaurant per week, with more than 400 restaurants open by 2000.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, told the Metro that Pizza Hut was ‘groundbreaking’ when it landed as it flipped ‘traditional restaurant experiences’ to give families ‘the concept of casual dining’.
The brand was well-loved for its hallmark pan or stuffed-crust pizzas, alongside its bottomless salad bar.
Nostalgia for the early days
Pizza Hut became a staple for family dining in the UK due to its reputation of affordability and good customer service.
Its well-known lunchtime buffet of pizza and pasta offered great value for money, alongside an ice cream factory in store that made it ideal for children’s parties.
The brand matched its 1980s and 90s popularity with cultural presence too. One of the most famous adverts featured future England manager Gareth Southgate after his Euro 96 penalty miss.
Southgate, who appeared along with fellow England penalty missers Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle, wore a brown paper bag he’d only remove to eat a slice of pizza.
Comedy duo The Two Ronnies appeared together in a 1998 campaign.
In 2010 it also launched a Kids Eat Free offer for a limited time and raised money for the charity World Food Programme.
Pizza Hut under pressure
Many fans might be loyal to the hut, but the chain has fallen behind in recent years in the competitive market of pizza restaurants.
Its relevance compared to upmarket options has suffered. Financial analyst Hewson said: ‘Pizza Hut offers decent value and the comfort of familiarity, but it struggles to be at the top of many people’s minds when they’re deciding where to eat out.’
In 2017 Pizza Hut lost its title as the world’s largest pizza chain when Domino’s took the top spot with $12.2billion in sales compared to Pizza Hut’s $12.03billion.
Businesses had to migrate sales to online orders, accelerated by the Covid pandemic, leaving its family dining nostalgia in the past.
Hewson explained that the convenience of getting food delivered ‘has made a night out at Pizza Hut less special’.
On consumer habits, she added: ‘Either they’ll go out for a meal, or they’ll watch the latest blockbuster at the cinema, but rarely would they budget to do both.
‘Indeed, cinemas themselves have also seen attendances fall as more films go straight to streaming services, which means footfall past a lot of those Pizza Hut locations is also down.’
More recently, after the Autumn budget last year, Pizza Hut raised concerns it would need to raise more than £10million to deal with new business tax rises.
In its November 2024 comments, the company planned to spend more on modernising branches with touch-screen ordering kiosks and contactless table ordering.
Monday’s announcement does not necessarily mark the end of Pizza Hut, as the British franchisee may instead be trying to trim costs by selling off the less profitable dine-in restaurants in a general shift to online.
American hospitality company Yum! Brands bought the UK restaurant operation in a ‘targeted acquisition’ that ‘aims to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible’ according to Nicolas Burquier, its managing director international operating markets.
On the chain’s future, Hewson said: ‘Pizza Hut is a household name – it evokes a sense of nostalgia in many people and it’s trusted to deliver exactly what it says on the tin.
‘What Yum! Brands needs to do is rediscover the pizzazz that made Pizza Hut pizza worth a trip out and to harness social media in a way that tempts in new diners.’
Zoë Adjey, University of East London’s senior lecturer in hospitality told Metro Pizza Hut has been ‘squeezed from both ends of the market’.
She said: ‘On one side, Domino’s has dominated the delivery and takeaway space with relentless marketing, app innovation, and social media engagement. On the other, the dine-in market has shifted toward more premium, artisanal brands like Franco Manca and Pizza Pilgrims. Pizza Hut fell into the middle.
‘Survival is possible, but it requires both strategic repositioning and a more hospitable economic environment. Pizza Hut needs to decide what they want to be – delivery convenience or dine-in experience – and execute it brilliantly.
‘Pizza Hut has the brand recognition and nostalgia factor, but they need both a clear identity and an economic climate that allows hospitality businesses to actually operate profitably.’