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Once, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for parents and children to feast on its unlimited dining experience, endless salad selection, and self-serve ice-cream.

Yet fewer patrons are frequenting the chain nowadays, and it is closing a significant portion of its British locations after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes Prudence. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she says “it's not a thing anymore.”

In the view of 23-year-old Martina, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been famous for since it started in the UK in the 1970s are now less appealing.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it appears that they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How?’”

As grocery costs have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to run. Similarly, its restaurants, which are being sliced from a large number to just over 60.

The business, similar to other firms, has also seen its costs go up. Earlier this year, employee wages rose due to rises in minimum wages and an rise in employer national insurance contributions.

A couple in their thirties and twenties explain they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they get delivery from another pizza brand and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

Depending on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are close, explains a culinary author.

Although Pizza Hut has pickup and delivery through external services, it is falling behind to big rivals which specialize to the delivery sector.

“Domino's has succeeded in leading the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and frequent offers that make customers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the base costs are quite high,” explains the expert.

However for Chris and Joanne it is worth it to get their evening together brought to their home.

“We predominantly have meals at home now instead of we eat out,” says the female customer, matching current figures that show a decrease in people visiting casual and fast-food restaurants.

During the summer months, quick-service eateries saw a 6% drop in diners compared to the previous year.

Moreover, one more competitor to pizza from eateries: the frozen or fresh pizza.

An industry leader, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, points out that not only have grocery stores been providing high-quality oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even selling pizza-making appliances.

“Evolving preferences are also contributing in the success of quick-service brands,” says Mr. Hawkley.

The growing trend of protein-rich eating plans has driven sales at chicken shops, while reducing sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

Since people dine out more rarely, they may seek out a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with booth seating and traditional décor can feel more dated than luxurious.

The growth of high-quality pizzerias” over the last several years, for example popular brands, has “fundamentally changed the public's perception of what quality pizza is,” notes the food expert.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a few choice toppings, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's led to Pizza Hut's struggles,” she says.

“Who would choose to spend nearly eighteen pounds on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for a lower price at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

Dan Puddle, who runs a pizza van based in Suffolk comments: “It's not that fallen out of love with pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

Dan says his flexible operation can offer premium pizza at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it was unable to evolve with changing preferences.

At a small pizza brand in a city in southwest England, the founder says the pizza market is diversifying but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything fresh.

“Currently available are individual slices, artisanal styles, New Haven-style, fermented dough, wood-fired, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as the youth don't have any sense of nostalgia or allegiance to the company.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's customer base has been fragmented and spread to its trendier, more nimble alternatives. To sustain its costly operations, it would have to increase costs – which commentators say is tough at a time when personal spending are decreasing.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's global operations said the acquisition aimed “to ensure our customer service and retain staff where possible”.

It was explained its immediate priority was to keep running at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to help employees through the restructure.

But with large sums going into operating its locations, it likely can't afford to spend heavily in its takeaway operation because the industry is “complex and working with existing third-party platforms comes at a cost”, experts say.

Still, experts suggest, reducing expenses by exiting oversaturated towns and city centres could be a good way to evolve.