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In the past, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for groups and loved ones to enjoy its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, endless salad selection, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet fewer patrons are visiting the brand nowadays, and it is shutting down half of its UK restaurants after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this calendar year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says one London shopper. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” However, at present, as a young adult, she states “it's no longer popular.”

According to young customer Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad bar, it feels like they are lowering standards and have lower standards... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Because grocery costs have soared, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become quite costly to maintain. Similarly, its restaurants, which are being reduced from over 130 to just over 60.

The chain, in common with competitors, has also experienced its expenses go up. This spring, employee wages increased due to higher minimum pay and an rise in employer social security payments.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they get delivery from Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Based on your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are close, notes a culinary author.

Although Pizza Hut does offer off-premise options through third-party apps, it is losing out to larger chains which specialize to this market.

“The rival chain has succeeded in leading the off-premise pizza industry thanks to intensive advertising and ongoing discounts that make customers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the base costs are relatively expensive,” says the specialist.

Yet for these customers it is acceptable to get their date night delivered to their door.

“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” explains Joanne, matching latest data that show a drop in people frequenting casual and fast-food restaurants.

During the summer months, informal dining venues saw a six percent decline in customers compared to the year before.

Moreover, another rival to restaurant and takeaway pizzas: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, head of leisure and hospitality at a leading firm, points out that not only have grocery stores been offering high-quality prepared pies for quite a while – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.

“Lifestyle changes are also playing a factor in the success of fast-food chains,” comments the analyst.

The rising popularity of protein-rich eating plans has driven sales at poultry outlets, while hitting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he continues.

Since people go out to eat not as often, they may seek out a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's classic look with vinyl benches and nostalgic table settings can feel more old-fashioned than upmarket.

The rise of high-quality pizzerias” over the last decade and a half, for example popular brands, has “completely altered the general opinion of what good pizza is,” says the industry commentator.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a select ingredients, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's caused Pizza Hut's struggles,” she states.

“Who would choose to spend nearly eighteen pounds on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a large brand when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted classic pizza for a lower price at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

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

The owner says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it failed to adapt with changing preferences.

At Pizzarova in a city in southwest England, owner Jack Lander says the sector is broadening but Pizza Hut has not provided anything fresh.

“There are now individual slices, regional varieties, new haven, artisan base, wood-fired, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pie fan to try.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as the youth don't have any emotional connection or attachment to the brand.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been sliced up and spread to its trendier, more nimble alternatives. To maintain its costly operations, it would have to raise prices – which commentators say is challenging at a time when family finances are shrinking.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to ensure our dining experience and protect jobs where possible”.

The executive stated its key goal was to maintain service at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to assist staff through the transition.

Yet with significant funds going into maintaining its outlets, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its off-premise division because the market is “difficult and partnering with existing external services comes at a expense”, commentators say.

But, he adds, reducing expenses by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a smart move to adjust.