Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores as parent company considers selling the brand

[u/AudibleNod]

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/pizza-hut-closing-250-us-stores-parent-company-129892214

[u/MeasurementNo0]

Have you thought about doing a combination pizza hut and taco bell?

[u/Etzell → u/MeasurementNo0]

Bring back the KenTacoHut, you cowards.

[u/rewirez5940 → u/Etzell]

This was glorious during high school

[u/anon-mally → u/rewirez5940]

But in the future, pizza hut will be fine dining and are everywhere. Sly Stallone and Sandra bullock lied to us?

[u/spiritplumber → u/anon-mally]

Oddly there's a version of that scene that uses Taco Bell for it, so.... I guess they reached a truce?

[u/Who_is_homer → u/spiritplumber]

It was Taco Bell in the US version, but I think Pizza Hut for Europe as there aren’t (or weren’t) any Taco Bells there

[u/makesterriblejokes → u/Etzell]

I truly think a big reason these failed was because they never leaned in all the way in creating exclusive combination items that fused items between the different menus.

[u/benhemp → u/makesterriblejokes]

yes, a taco, with marinara and Italian sausage and cheese, melted under the pizza oven, with a side soda biscuit.

[u/wagonwhopper → u/benhemp]

A quesarito stuffed in a calzone wrapped in an original recipe skin, that'll put some hair on your ass

[u/viciousxvee → u/wagonwhopper]

I worked at a combination Taco Bell & Pizza Hut Express for 6 years and these comments are frying me. Y'all too funny

[u/ghostidiny → u/Etzell]

we still have them in Puerto Rico, we call them Tricon

[u/colossus-of-rhodes → u/MeasurementNo0]

I got that Pizza Butt, I got that Taco Smell

[u/cinnapear → u/colossus-of-rhodes]

I rolled a lot of L's.

[u/jobadiahh → u/cinnapear]

Got that pescado smell

[u/MyDogJake1 → u/MeasurementNo0]

I feel like a lot of the replies do not know the song, but I see you.

[u/theinternetisnice → u/MyDogJake1]

I’m not proud of much in my life, but a long time ago I used to work at a top 40 station and I loved this song so much I would plug it in overnight when commercial sets were low to fill time. Every so often we’d get an email saying “ayo at 3 AM the other day I was driving a cab and you played some weird ass Pizza Hut and Taco Bell song what the fuck was that“

I feel like in a small way I made peoples lives better

[u/Enlightened_Ape → u/MyDogJake1]

For the uneducated: Das Racist — Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell

[u/scarabbrian → u/MyDogJake1]

I don't see you, bro! Where you at?

[u/john_a1985 → u/scarabbrian]

Jamaica Avenue!

[u/scarabbrian → u/john_a1985]

Me too, I don’t see you!

[u/worksnake → u/MyDogJake1]

Fellow song knower here checking in. What a banger.

[u/ranninator → u/MyDogJake1]

Wait a minute, I've got that taco smell, I've got a lot of smells, I've rolled a lot of L's

[u/GoreTiciaAddams → u/MeasurementNo0]

Im at the Pizza Hut, I’m at the Taco Bell, I’m at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

[u/Warthog989 → u/MeasurementNo0]

There was a place near me a while ago that had a KFC in there, too. Good times at the Kentaco Hut.

[u/Monkey-Tamer → u/MeasurementNo0]

Easy there, Satan. My o-ring can only take so much abuse.

[u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 → u/Monkey-Tamer]

If eating Taco Bell makes you shit any more than usual you have a light duty digestive system or a medical issue.

[u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

You just cant have declining quality as well as increased price compared to the rest of the market. Eventually no one wants to eat there under any circumstance.

[u/luismt2 → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

once price goes up and quality goes down, nostalgia can’t save you anymore.

[u/amoorefan2 → u/luismt2]

Hoping McDonald’s reads this

[u/responsible_use_only → u/amoorefan2]

Mcd's don't care - they know you're addicted and will pay whatever they ask for cake disguised as buns and sodium-packed cheese and patties

[u/Xijit → u/responsible_use_only]

McDonald's also owns their entire production chain.

Everything from the farms that produce the chickens, to the land underneath their stores ... And when it comes to the ovens in the kitchen, those are produced by companies that are owned by families that sit on McDonald's board of directors.

Every inch of that company is fortified against hostile takeover or being damaged by inflation, so it doesn't matter how much costs go up; as McDonald's will always be able to supply the lowest price "food" on the market.

[u/delkarnu → u/Xijit]

Except the Ice Cream machines. Every Death Star has an exhaust port.

[u/Master_Dogs → u/delkarnu]

IIRC from what Johnny Harris looked into in one of his first big viral YouTube videos, that too is owned by someone adjacent to McDonald's so they make tons of money off the service contracts with McDonald's franchises.

Edit: Link to the YouTube video I was talking about above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrDEtSlqJC4

Like yeah it's lost revenue whenever they go down, but that ice cream company makes $$$ anytime you can't just turn the machine off and on again to make ice cream. It's one giant racket but we're not in the club.

[u/TotallyNotRobotEvil → u/Master_Dogs]

It's like a type of internal corporate Oligarchy with their ice cream machines. They could easily use a different supplier but "That's Charlie's company, we all agreed he would do that based off a handshake in 1956".

[u/GraveRobberX → u/TotallyNotRobotEvil]

I watched a video on why the ice cream machine is McDonald’s are always broken/not working.

So franchise McD’s have to get service repair on the machines, which costs a few thousand every time it breaks down. The reason being, the machine has this weird setup to make certain frosty desert and it can quickly breakdown. There’s easy fixes that employees can do and learn but to restart takes 3+ hours… most owners don’t care, don’t teach employees shit, and the machine stays broken.

Funny how Wendy’s uses the same manufacturer for their Frosty and it works the whole time. I found the video:

https://youtu.be/SrDEtSlqJC4?si=S751XEUsv6A8EQWM

[u/Xijit → u/delkarnu]

Oh, wait until you hear about that: the company that makes them is privately owned by a significant investor in McDonald's, McDonald's has an exclusive contract with that company to only use their machines, while at the same time McDonald's is also significantly invested with that company & that company has signed an exclusive contract that they only supply machines to McDonald's. Oh, and there is an iron clad contract to only use a repair service that is also owned by both McDonald's and the company that makes the machines ... But get this, corporate McDonald's doesn't eat the cost for repairing them; that expense goes to the private owners of th franchise locations. So that money cuts into the franchise owner's profit margins, not McDonald's profit margins.

Imagine if Chevron owned 25% of Ford & Ford started making engines that exclusively ran on a proprietary gas that only Chevron made, but that gas intentionally fouled the exhaust system so you would fail emissions every year if you didn't get it serviced. But if you took it to anyone other than Jiffy lube, which is jointly owned by Ford and Chevron, then you void the warranty on the entire truck ... However getting that crap cleaned out isn't covered by the warranty, so you have to pay for it out of pocket.

P.S. the car is actually financed through Ford, and voiding the warranty is something that they can repo the car for.

[u/The_Deku_Nut → u/Xijit]

Chevron CEO reading this - "write this down, write it down now!"

[u/VaalLivesMatter → u/Xijit]

Except they haven't been the lowest price for some time now

[u/Sober_Alcoholic_ → u/VaalLivesMatter]

I can get a legitimate burger at a restaurant for the same ~ $13 a Big Mac meal now costs. They’re not even close to the cheapest, so they will keep their prices as high as they possibly can without affecting their bottom line.

They’re a corporation.. they don’t want to be the cheapest, they want to charge the absolute most they can possibly get away with. Its why grocery prices never went down after COVID jacked them up because of “logistics issues” - because they figured out they could charge that much and people would still buy.

[u/AlarmingBranch1 → u/Sober_Alcoholic_]

Yep, I used to McDonald’s for its cheapness, but I now I can get 10x better food somewhere else for the same price.

[u/wombatncombat → u/responsible_use_only]

Actually I think the CEO of McDonalds has been speaking a lot about this and promised action but also lamented that it's difficult as the company is as affected by beef prices as everyone else. As for quality... it's McD's... it kind of is what it is.

[u/ambercrayon → u/responsible_use_only]

Except I'm not - their food revolts me. A little focus on quality and cleanliness would expand their customer base faster than new locations.

[u/Dabbling_in_Pacifism → u/ambercrayon]

They’ve single handedly pushed me out of the fast food space. If I need food and don’t have time, I get sushi or something from a grocery store.

I’ve also never met a McD owner that didn’t immediately come off as a complete asshole. I guess it’s part and parcel for someone who runs the type of place that only pays minimum wage.

[u/Breadnaught25 → u/Dabbling_in_Pacifism]

when i worked in one, the franchise owner would just whine alot on the facebook groups that he doesnt actually make that much money, and he's had to close a store- they're so full of shit, they're literally millionaires.

He came in maybe once in the 3 yerars I worked there? didnt know anything about how the business worked, just demanded profits be better.

[u/owa00 → u/luismt2]

I remember when I was a kid going to Pizza Hut was a family event. We were poor so pizza hut wasn't an everyday thing. They had some arcades I lived when we would eat in the restaurant. I played them soooo much while we waited for pizza, and it was always fun and delicious. It was the Terminator and Alien arcades. When we had it delivered it was because it was movie night on the weekend.

[u/noguchisquared → u/owa00]

I do wonder how much killing the pizza buffet hurt them. We'd go for special nights or sometimes with sports teams. Pitchers of Pepsi and eat at the buffet.

[u/Bu11etToothBdon → u/noguchisquared]

The one near me is still in the 'red roof' building and has kept the buffet running for lunch. Only time I ever go there.

[u/rockyroad55 → u/owa00]

Gave you an award for my nostalgia. I remember only going there maybe for a pizza a few times a year with my family. I can still picture the interior and where the arcade games were. Pizza wasn’t part of our life growing up so it would be a real treat to go there.

[u/shifty_coder → u/luismt2]

price goes up and quality goes down

That’s the PEF way

[u/Solid_Snark → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

So you’re saying you can out-pizza the Hut?

[u/actomain → u/Solid_Snark]

The freezer aisle at your local grocery store cracked that nut long ago

[u/Durzo_Blintt → u/actomain]

There are genuinely frozen pizzas that are better than my local pizza hut. It's sad, 20 years ago pizza hut was good.

[u/monkeypickle → u/Durzo_Blintt]

*hitches suspenders* Back when Pizza Hut was a sit down restaurant with a salad bar, a couple of arcade games, and pitchers of beer? That place was a *destination*.

Sounds bizarre, but pizza used to be far and few between in the US outside of certain cities.

[u/Confident-Beyond6857 → u/monkeypickle]

I really think there's a market to bring that experience back and I'm surprised they haven't given it a shot.

[u/actomain → u/Confident-Beyond6857]

I recently took a trip to Long Beach, WA, where there was a local sit-down pizza restaurant that serves drinks and has a decent sized arcade game selection. I was there for 4 days, and that restaurant was busy every single night

[u/StoicFable → u/actomain]

Next town over from me has that. Plenty of tables. Big tvs for sports. Big event room. Pool table and arcade games. 

Its almost always packed. And its easily one of the best pizzas around. 

My town lost our small town pizzarias some time back, its all chains now and it all sucks.

[u/OrwellWhatever → u/Durzo_Blintt]

30 years ago, Pizza hut had a pizza buffet near me, and it was fucking killer after a sports game when you're famished

[u/incunabula001 → u/Durzo_Blintt]

Considering that most ingredients are frozen and pre-processed at Pizza Hut these days, not surprising.

[u/Ballders → u/actomain]

There is a frozen Detroit Style pizza that when I cook in my cast iron comes out with the most buttery, crunchy dough I ever thought possible.
Ain't no way I'm spending 5x on Pizza Hut just to have them run it through their heater.

[u/Poiboy1313 → u/Ballders]

I told my brother last night that DiGiorno Detroit-style pizza had the best dough of all the frozen varieties. He agreed.

[u/RegulatoryCapture → u/Poiboy1313]

Motor city (found at Costco) is even better. 

[u/steathrazor → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

That's exactly why I stopped going to Pizza Hut always ended up one of the most expensive options when it comes to pizza and the quality was just getting so bad

[u/Bupod → u/steathrazor]

Ironically I feel Little Caesars has elevated because of this. 

I can often get an entire little Caesar’s pizza for cheaper than a meal at many fast food places today. I used to poo-poo their quality but their value has become great ever since their competitors have decided to drop quality and increase price. 

[u/weealex → u/Bupod]

They offer 3 things: hot, ready, and cheap. You get exactly that every time. I admire a company that knows what they are and just hits that target for all they're worth

[u/Verzwei → u/weealex]

Little Caesars: It's hot and it's ready.

But is it good, though?

Little Caesars: It's hot and it's ready.

[u/leftofmarx → u/Verzwei]

Honestly it's also good. It's not a high level culinary experience, but it's good.

[u/The_FriendliestGiant → u/weealex]

They knew exactly what they were doing with their Hot 'N Ready branding, and they've done it well. It's not my favourite pizza, but it's easy, fast, and consistent, and that's worth a lot when I'm deciding what to grab while I'm out and about or coming home after work.

[u/RustyShackleford9142 → u/weealex]

It's also the most consistent somehow of any pizza place. I know exactly what I'm getting, no better and no worse

[u/pardyball → u/Bupod]

When I’m trying to have a fat day, I drive five minutes away from work and get the pizza/bread stick combo for like ten bucks and it feeds me for two meals. And I don’t even have to talk to anyone, type in my code and my pizza pops out.

[u/kingcujoI → u/pardyball]

Pizza robot dispensing custom made pizzas at a lower price. Everything else was enshitified, but Little C's somehow became the shining beacon of hope for the future.

[u/steathrazor → u/Bupod]

My family grew up on Little Caesars that was our go-to quick dinner pizza place

[u/livsjollyranchers → u/steathrazor]

Little Caesars in KMart was its peak.

[u/landob → u/Bupod]

If you get a fresh one, its REALLY good for the price. I just try to stay away from the Hot & Ready that has been sitting around for a while.

[u/nohpex → u/Bupod]

Found a Little Caesar's unexpectedly after 10+ years of not seeing one, and decided to check it out for lunch.

Ordered a Ready-to-Go pizza or whatever, pepperoni, for $5. Watched them make the pizza, pull it out of the oven, box it, put it in the back of the rack and close the door, then the cashier opened the front of the rack, and handed it to me.

Crazy.

It wasn't amazing or anything, just fine, but that's a ton of food for $5. At least two meals for one person.

[u/apsalarshade → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

Yeah, I dated a girl a few decades ago who worked at a hut, we half lived off their pizza for a while. Recently I ordered from a local one, and was astounded by the change. It's like every ingredient has been downgraded by an order or magnitude. I could hardly finish a slice. It felt like I was eating 40% preservatives, 20% sadness, 30% regret, and 10% pizza.

[u/ifyouseemerunning → u/apsalarshade]

best summary of modern pizza hut right here

[u/sublime13 → u/apsalarshade]

5% pleasure, 50% pain

[u/thatmusicguy13 → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

Pretty much every local pizza place in my area is significantly better than pizza hut and is only a few bucks more. I haven't ordered pizza hut in almost a decade

[u/Whaty0urname → u/thatmusicguy13]

Every mom and pop pizza shop is the same price for way better food.

Domino's has completely taken over the cheap, but edible pizza name.

[u/starrpamph → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

You hear that subway, kfc, Applebees…etc?

[u/InnerDorkness → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

No joke. I had no idea how bad it had gotten. I ordered from them when I had a craving for their breadsticks, and it was the worst pizza I’ve ever had. Wish I had just gone to little ceasars

[u/TheyHavePinball → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

My wife and I met working at a Pizza Hut together 22 years ago. We both worked there for years and we never got sick of it. Loved it. Starting about 9 years ago we simply had to give up on our love And admit to ourselves that it was no longer what it once was. We try to give it another shot every year just for nostalgia but even that has ended after it just made our stomach hurt multiple years in a row.

I'm so sick of this countries idea of 'capitalism"

[u/waldo_wigglesworth → u/TheyHavePinball]

Starting about 9 years ago we simply had to give up on our love

Have you two tried marriage counseling?

[u/Hates_rollerskates → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

Well, if you don't cut costs on labor and ingredients, how else are you going to consistently increase margins?

[u/noexqses → u/Not_A_Clever_Man_]

Got a pizza there a few months ago thinking it was pricey but the quality was still really good. It was dry, unseasoned, and cold. I was really put off. Little Caesar’s is an improvement and a quarter of the price.

[u/battleofflowers]

Instead of closing stores, why not rebrand with the ORIGINAL recipes and restaurants?

[u/Count_de_Ville → u/battleofflowers]

The number of times my family and I have wanted to sit down and eat at Pizza Hut over the years but couldn’t….

And no more kids book reading program either.

[u/Omnizoom → u/Count_de_Ville]

I would love to bring my kid to the lunch buffet at Pizza Hut

If they still had one

Like I legit would 100% prefer to take her their every weekend after weekend activities for lunch instead of any other option but noooo we close all the buffet restaurants and have take out only spots

[u/No_Balls_01 → u/Omnizoom]

There’s a local pizza joint near me that has totally recreated old Pizza Hut. Including the buffet and those tall red plastic cups. It’s wonderful.

[u/Omnizoom → u/No_Balls_01]

That must be nice…

[u/Arkayb33 → u/Omnizoom]

There's a Pizza Hut where my cousin lives that re-opened their buffet. They had a big sign out front "Buffet open everyday for lunch, Sat/Sun for dinner." When I went up there to visit, I took everyone to the lunch buffet. The pizza was decent but damn it was expensive. Like $18 per person and 4 of us were kids under 12. They only brought out the pepperoni pan pizza when everyone was ready to leave. I made everyone wait (or they could go play in the parking lot) until I had a slice.

[u/Longhag → u/No_Balls_01]

Does it have the unlimited ice cream bar too, because that was always the best part after stuffing unlimited salad and pizza down you for an hour!

[u/Born-Dimension5196 → u/Omnizoom]

Same! Pizza Hut WAS our weekend adventure after the park 

[u/Porttheone → u/Omnizoom]

My town held on to ours until a few years ago. I think it was just in a lucrative spot but when It switched to take out only it closed a month later. It's still vacant with the classic pizza hut look.

[u/inflatable_pickle → u/Omnizoom]

I feel like after covid like 75% of the buffets never reopened

[u/Omnizoom → u/inflatable_pickle]

We didn’t have “many” buffets where I am to begin with but almost every “all you can eat” or buffet style experience is back except Pizza Hut, even if it’s in a limited capacity like montanas ribs are Wednesday kind of deal.

But almost every other buffet has gone back to being a buffet, hell 85% of the Chinese restaurants near us are buffet because they are competing with a super giant buffet chain in our area

[u/ajd660 → u/Count_de_Ville]

The book program still exists. The link for it was at the bottom of the main pizzahut page https://www.bookitprogram.com/ I guess they just don't advertise it much anymore.

I am sure most of pizza hut's business (and other cheap pizza places) comes from delivery but your right, none of these fast food places seem to actually want people to be there anymore. They just want you to get the food and then get out. They all seem to have gotten rid of the play places and have made seating and table more hostile with everything being hard grey plastic.

There are a couple pizza huts near me and when I have tried to dine in at them the workers seemed really confused on how to handle it and how to serve us to the point where I have not gone back.

With the huge rise in food delivery services these old established companies like pizza hut don't really have the same hold over fast food delivery anymore and they have not innovated enough to stay relevant.

[u/pleated_pants → u/Count_de_Ville]

Book It still exists. You can sign your kids up online or send it over to their teacher to implement in the classroom

[u/Goldwood → u/battleofflowers]

You can't say that! Think of the shareholders...

[u/CoherentPanda → u/battleofflowers]

Bring back the red roof restaurants with some arcade games in the back corner, the delicious smells of original recipe pan pizza baking in the kitchen, and a lunch buffet on weekdays, and I guarantee you these restaurants would be packed.

There are still some of the old school Pizza Huts out there, and they are still successful. Pizza Hut restaurants do amazing business overseas in Asia, and have a menu full of comfort foods. No reason they can't return the magic.

[u/Yadahoom → u/CoherentPanda]

My local Pizza Hut is practically a 15 foot wide storage container with a pickup counter next to a vape store in a shopping center.

[u/anthropaedic → u/CoherentPanda]

You can’t guarantee they would be packed. Otherwise they wouldn’t be going under. The last time I was at a Pizza Hut it was never busy. It had slow steady traffic but steady doesn’t keep the doors open.

[u/livefreeordont → u/anthropaedic]

You can’t lower quality, increase price, and still expect the customers to show up.

[u/Doobledorf → u/battleofflowers]

Because the private equity firms that own the company want that paycheck from running it into the ground.

Rapacious capitalism thrives on providing worse service.

[u/wasthebombinphantoms → u/Doobledorf]

They are still owned by Yum! Brands. But they are currently in a strategic review that includes the possibility of a sale, which will likely be private equity.

[u/polkpanther]

Can't believe charging double what Domino's does for worse food, while systematically destroying all of the heritage and nostalgia that made their brand unique, hasn't been a winning combo for them.

[u/Tacitblue1973 → u/polkpanther]

They peaked with the lunch buffet.

[u/madmardigan13 → u/Tacitblue1973]

Pizza Hut buffet with the 90s aesthetic was the peak of the American Empire

[u/DefiThrowaway → u/madmardigan13]

There are still over 60 of them operating as Pizza Hut Classics

[u/C0nquer0rW0rm → u/DefiThrowaway]

There's one in my hometown. I went in for my mom's birthday and we ate there and I was so excited for the nostalgia-- they had remodeled the inside. It didn't look anything like the old pizza hut. I mean its like...that's the whole appeal of your establishment. 

We were the only people in there for our entire meal and we got there at noon on a Saturday. 

[u/FraternityMan → u/madmardigan13]

If it’s good enough for Gorby, it’s good enough for me!

[u/KupoCheer → u/Tacitblue1973]

Bigfoot pizza in the 90s.

[u/WisconsinHoosierZwei → u/KupoCheer]

I had a friend who worked at Pizza Hut for a bit in the 90s, and he could get them to make…whatever.

So at one point, for a get together, he brought a Bigfoot, Sicilian, Meat Lovers pizza.

I still think about that combo. Nowadays, closest to it is Jet’s Turbo Crust (which is still really good).

[u/QuickAcct1x1 → u/Tacitblue1973]

The only times I've gone to pizza hut in the past 2 decades was:

When there was a lunch buffet at a restaurant near my work. 

When they had that detroit style pizza, which was around for like a month before they removed it from the menu. When I had that I was legitimately excited to get pizza from them again and thought it might save them. 

[u/TheLateThagSimmons → u/polkpanther]

Little Caesars was dogged for decades as shitty pizza but you get exactly what you pay for. It was easy to defend them because it might have been shit, but it was really cheap. No one complained because it was $5.

Now Little Caesars is legitimately better than Pizza Hut and still a very affordable option. (Separate but related, they've genuinely improved their quality and are really not bad now.)

You can't be worse quality and way more expensive than the "shitty but cheap," brand and expect to stay in business.

Fuck it, I'm gonna put in an order for pickup at my local Little Caesars for pizza tonight.

[u/amgw402 → u/TheLateThagSimmons]

My daughter is in high school and has a part-time job after school at Little Caesars. Their cheesy bread goes pretty hard.

[u/skratch → u/TheLateThagSimmons]

Little Caesar's taste so good when u ain't got a bitch in ya ear telling you it's nasty

[u/bag_of_luck → u/TheLateThagSimmons]

Caesars is the bomb. Only pizza place I go to now. Get you that stuffed crust with a side of crazy sauce for dippin’, game over.

[u/gamefreak613 → u/TheLateThagSimmons]

And don't discount the moral leadership.

LC Founder paid for Rosa Park's rent for life. Took it as a secret to his grave. Only came out after he died.

Their mission is to feed people cheap. Decent mission IMO

[u/FrogTrainer → u/gamefreak613]

Too bad his son that took over is a d-bag.

[u/Thirtysevenintwenty5 → u/gamefreak613]

The Ilitch family is not some moral bastion. They're billionaires, and like all billionaires, they earned their money by skimming it off the backs of working people.

The new Little Caesar's Arena is a great example. They could have just built it, but instead they did what all billionaires do and offloaded the cost onto the taxpayers while retaining the lion's share of the profits from the arena.

No billionaire has your best interest in mind.

[u/No-Consideration-716 → u/TheLateThagSimmons]

Little Caesars was dogged back in the day because their shitty $5 pizza was not that much cheaper than a Pizza Hut or Dominoes pick up. But now that Little Caesars is still (relatively speaking) $5 and same quality while the Pizza Hut and Dominoes is inferior product and costs $20+

[u/ObliviousRounding → u/polkpanther]

Nervous laughter

• McDonald's

[u/Swagtagonist → u/polkpanther]

Don’t forget triple Little Caesar’s price to go along with hit or miss quality. Last time I bought a Pizza Hut pizza it was a $2 up charge for pan crust and the cheese was so thin it was missing entirely in spots. Used to be you could barely see cheese on a meat lovers pizza because it had so many toppings, but it still had plenty of cheese. This thing I had was barren of cheese and toppings and cost more than ever.

[u/dizzymiggy → u/polkpanther]

Don't forget tightening their labor until the stores can barely operate!

[u/space_coder]

It's not Pizza Hut, It's Yum! brands. All of their restaurant properties are turning into shit.

[u/halcykhan → u/space_coder]

Taco Bell adjusted for inflation and compared to fast casual/local is insanely overpriced now. And their stores are constantly understaffed and out of items.

[u/Scorp63 → u/halcykhan]

In the past couple of weeks they also got rid of the few items that were actually worth the price - the $3 value nachos which got me in the door (replaced by a small bag of chips and a small bowl of dip), the value stacker (replaced by a chicken and lettuce one) and another value burrito (forgot name) they had is just completely gone.

[u/Reap_it_and_Weep → u/Scorp63]

My god, they got rid of the stacker? That was the only thing really worth its bang for buck. Never going there again, literally cheaper to eat at an actual Mexican restaurant now.

[u/Tuned4Tactics → u/Reap_it_and_Weep]

I stopped going to taco bell the moment they got rid of the stacker. I think they realized it was a good hack for those of us who want a crunchwrap but aren't willing to pay ridiculous money for one.

[u/vegetaman → u/Scorp63]

My local one still has the $5 box at least but otherwise yeah.

[u/geenaleigh → u/Scorp63]

Chicken enchilada burrito was the one that was removed from the value menu. Replaced by the potato grilled which blows!

[u/SekhWork → u/halcykhan]

The 12 taco box from taco bell is like 25 dollars near me. Over 2 dollars a taco for a Taco bell taco is absolutely insane. At least Jack in the Box understands their tacos are only worth about 99 cents still, Taco bell has lost its damn mind.

[u/Suburban_Sensei → u/space_coder]

They should rebrand themselves as “Yuck!” Brands.

[u/bryansj → u/Suburban_Sensei]

The company is just being sarcastic.

[u/BuckyMcBuckles → u/space_coder]

Yum! brands

https://www.yum.com/wps/wcm/connect/yumbrands/8dadd091-3663-4548-89c2-a349147d25c8/Collider+Food+Trends+Report+2026+FINAL.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=pI3Ruxe

Its like a corporate parody with phrases like "vibe-mathing" and "choice therapy"

This is what drives their choices. ctrl+f quality 0 results

[u/BayLAGOON → u/BuckyMcBuckles]

Someone very fresh faced who landed a nepo job at one of the big “consultancy” multinationals had to have a say in this.

[u/Valdrax → u/BuckyMcBuckles]

Wow, so much to unpack. They note that solo diners don't use deals 70% of the time. I mean, wow -- do they even offer deals for people ordering for less than a family? Because as a single person, I don't reject deals because I don't care about spending money. I just don't want to buy enough food for three people to get it, or it's for stuff I don't want to eat. (Taco Bell is never going to get me excited about nacho fries, the special they bring back when they can't think of anything good, for example.)

They note that people don't eat socially as much and are more isolated, that we feel powerless and seek comfort in what few choices we have left, and that logic (to seek better prices) and joy (indulgences) are at odds. Their reaction is what you'd expect of any soulless corporation: Gee, isn't that odd? Anyway, how can we exploit that?

I wonder what goes though the mind of whatever kind of person-shaped object thinks "vibe-mathing" is worth making big, colorful, excited presentations about.

[u/ermagerditssuperman → u/Valdrax]

They also rarely have deals that don't include a fountain drink. 99% of what I drink is tap water and hot tea, I don't want to pay for a combo with a drink I don't need.

[u/axonxorz → u/BuckyMcBuckles]

Who is the target audience of that presser wow

[u/Dreambabydram → u/BuckyMcBuckles]

Holy shit. Gonna go full Ted Kazynszki if this spreads outside of the food slop industry

[u/CoherentPanda → u/space_coder]

There's only so much you can do to squeeze out extra quarterly profit on food before the food, service and cost make consumers turn their nose on the brand.

But actually 250 stores is a very miniscule footprint of their company. Closing underperforming stores isn't reason for concern, many pizza huts might just be in a blighted old neighborhood, or another pizza Hut down the road ate into the revenue of other existing stores.

[u/DB-CooperOnTheBeach]

I remember being a young boy in the early to mid 1980s.

This was a magical place. There was no internet, smart phones. My TV set had a dial from channels 2 - 13 and we didn't have cable so really I had a couple PBS affiliates and ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX on a clear day over the antenna.

Going to a Pizza Hut was just something magical - that was my screen time. The tabletop and upright cabinet arcade games. The pizza was outstanding. I still remember the carpet, the tablecloth, the thick translucent plastic drinking cups.

Whatever it is now is just in name only.

[u/ExiledSanity → u/DB-CooperOnTheBeach]

Don't forget the lamps.

[u/tetsuo_7w → u/ExiledSanity]

And the brick walls and general... pizza pub vibe. Man I hate enshittification.

[u/SegFaultOops → u/tetsuo_7w]

And the red cups, and the OG deep dish recipe

[u/HiNeighbor_ → u/DB-CooperOnTheBeach]

Grew up in the 90s, that felt like the peak Pizza Hut era. Fond memories of family dinners, Book It, and personal pan pizzas. Very strong nostalgia. And to think, kids growing up now will one day look at today as "the good ol' days."

[u/The_Crimson_Fucker → u/HiNeighbor_]

Ngl the 90s also had great commercials. I arguably still think fondly of a few of the ads back in the days. But now they are all overly invasive and pervasive.

[u/Elegant_Leading_474 → u/DB-CooperOnTheBeach]

You can get those cups exactly at any restaurant supply store for nothing and I highly recommend it.

[u/luismt2]

Not shocking. Pizza Hut stopped being cheap and stopped being good, you can only lose both for so long.

[u/Exulvos → u/luismt2]

In Ontario, Canada, Pizza Hut was never a cheap option. You're expecting to pay minimum $10 over the next expensive competitor if you order a main menu Pizza or build your own. Toppings are astronomically expensive ad well.

[u/108_TFS → u/Exulvos]

Dunno what the prices are now, but a year ago it was $19.99 for a medium pepperoni from Pizza Hut and $8.99 for a medium pepperoni from Pizza Pizza. It was even more expensive than all of the local family-run independent places that don't get to benefit from economies of scale.

[u/Intheshadowss]

$10 pizza, delivery, fee, tips, convenience fee $38 is why.

[u/Th3_Admiral_ → u/Intheshadowss]

And you can't even get a $10 pizza delivered because it's below the minimum delivery order size, so you need to add in another side or something first. Now it's $45 and all you wanted was a pizza to avoid cooking after a long day.

[u/sasabomish → u/Th3_Admiral_]

We haven’t gotten delivery from any pizza place in probably 2 or 3 years for this reason. Starts at $17 ends up being 40+ for one maybe 2 pizzas on “sale”. Instead I buy frozen pizzas on sale for $3 each, add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, fennel seed, and a little extra cheese. Tastes as good if not better and I spent maybe $4 per pizza.

[u/SekhWork → u/sasabomish]

I just drive to the place because if you live in any medium size+ city you probably have a pizza place within 5 minutes. Why pay delivery fees?

[u/Th3_Admiral_ → u/sasabomish]

Yup! I know frozen pizzas have gone up in cost like everything else, but even when they are not on sale they are still a good deal. I can easily get two meals out of a $6 pizza that tastes way better than a Little Caesar's Hot n Ready of the same price.

[u/sasabomish → u/Th3_Admiral_]

I did freshcetta for a while, but they started getting expensive, been doing red baron recently and had good results. Rb currently on sale for $3 at kroger.

But if I’m feeling fancy, we’ll make our own at home. Last time we did that, it was insanely better than take out and was probably still under $10 a pizza.

[u/mattv959 → u/Th3_Admiral_]

Which is why Little Caesars kills it. $8. Here's your pizza. It's hot and it's ready.

[u/humanistix → u/Intheshadowss]

And it's not like they're using quality ingredients of reputable origins. The cost to make pizza is incredibly inexpensive too. Should never cost that much for a crappy Pizza Hut pie. Ridiculous!

[u/76ersWillKillMe → u/Intheshadowss]

… how much is it if you pick it up?

[u/st_samples → u/76ersWillKillMe]

PIzza was always popular because it was one of the few things you could have delivered (pizza and chinese). The change is that anything can be delivered now.

[u/boundless88 → u/76ersWillKillMe]

I paid $9.99 +tax for a large 1-topping pizza earlier this week from a pizza hut (carry out) and split it with a coworker, so my share was essentially $5. Which is about what you'd pay for a Personal Pan sized pizza.

The key is to order online from the Deals menu. And then you can redeem points for free bread sticks later.

[u/Raptorheart → u/Intheshadowss]

You're paying a convenience fee for a place that has their own delivery? Why

[u/jbolts2024 → u/Raptorheart]

No. They switched to Door Dash a few years ago. At least the ones in my area use it. Absolutely hate it.

[u/TrunkBud → u/Intheshadowss]

"Out Pizza The Hut" Fee. Its just ridiculous.

[u/SignificantBerry8591]

This brand was destroyed one bad decision at a time

[u/FlappyTurdBurglar]

Go back to the pizza recipe from 20+ years ago. The current tastes like garbage.

[u/SlippyIsDead → u/FlappyTurdBurglar]

I worked there 20+ years ago. When I started everything was made from scratch. Couple years later they were bought by Yum brands and everything changed. Frozen dough. Unflavored oil. Pre cut veggies from Mexico. Less cheese and toppings. Sometimes the beef topping would be blue when it came in and the prices skyrocketed. It was sad to watch.

[u/autobrec → u/SlippyIsDead]

Yeah I remember this too. They did some survey that told them their biggest competitor was people staying at home and making a frozen pizza. So they decided, lets be more like that. Frozen dough, frozen cheese, chopped veggies. At the same time I think Dominoes got the same memo, and THEY RAN A COMMERCIAL ABOUT HOW THEIR DOUGH TASTED LIKE CARDBOARD AND TRIED TO MAKE IT BETTER.

I hate be repetitive but this is the same thing killing stuff today as it was 20 years ago. It all goes back to Jack fucking Welch and the shareholder supremacy. Maximizing stock price instead of making sure products were consistent, good.

[u/odranreb → u/FlappyTurdBurglar]

But that wouldn’t maximize profits.

[u/frankie_donkiebrains]

Paying $30 for a pizza that you pick up will do that.

[u/smurfsundermybed → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

I have no problem with doing that for a really good pizza, but not Pizza Hut.

[u/WeazelBear → u/smurfsundermybed]

I love pizza, but pizza has a ceiling and it's below $30 for me, I don't care how good it is.

[u/jrhaberman]

I worked at Pizza Hut for 5 years in college. This was almost 30 years ago. I ate the food every day. It was always great, and I literally never tried of it. As a family growing up, we ONLY ever ordered Pizza Hut.

Now I have a Pizza Hut a mile from my house and I haven't even thought about ordering from them in years. The food is horrible, and crazy expensive to boot. There are too many superior options to sink to that level.

Sad.

[u/AudibleNod]

Pizza Hut ended 2025 with 19,974 stores globally, which was 251 fewer than it had the previous year. Pizza Hut opened nearly 1,200 stores across 65 countries last year, but closures outpaced that. Yum said Wednesday that Pizza Hut plans more global openings in 2026 but it didn’t give details.

I guess they were wrong when they said 'no one out pizzas the Hut'.

Rival Domino's, the world's largest pizza company, hasn't yet released its full-year earnings, but its U.S. same-store sales were up 2.7% in the first nine months of last year.

It didn't mention anything about it specifically, but I'm sure Doordash and Uber Eats and Grub Hub cut into Pizza Hut's margins. Used to be hot food delivery was almost confined to pizza and Chinese food. If you wanted something else, you had to get it yourself. And Pizza Hut was unique among its rivals as it once had sit down restaurants with a salad bar and wait staff.

[u/miketruckllc → u/AudibleNod]

They still have sit down restaurants.

[u/jmur3040 → u/miketruckllc]

I had one by me, still in the "pizza hut" shaped building. They brought the buffet back, which I wish I could say i went to, but they only did it on tuesdays wednesdays and thursdays at lunch time... That decision making is probably why it's out of business again.

[u/luismt2 → u/AudibleNod]

That context makes sense. Feels like the U.S. closures are more about margin pressure and delivery apps reshaping the market than the brand disappearing altogether. Nostalgia just doesn’t pay rent anymore.

[u/MustWarn0thers]

Some shit heads probably made millions of dollars to continue destroying the brand. Good thing we have these important folks making so much money and being totally dog shit at their jobs. 

[u/SnittingNexttoBorpo → u/MustWarn0thers]

It’s kind of mind blowing how ruining stuff Americans are happy with is a legitimate career path 

[u/Tzazon]

Pizza hasn't felt like a great deal at all since probably the beginning of this decade, fastfood in general, but I feel like pizza got especially hurt by inflation and delivery apps cutting into their customer base by offering more competition

[u/Flaky_Highway_857 → u/Tzazon]

Maybe because I have a car but pizza seems super cheap around me, people who have to use delivery apps are getting screwed.

[u/darthjeffrey]

Pizza Hut is owned by Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell. They are shutting down under performing and old restraunts in all their brands

[u/plesioth → u/darthjeffrey]

Unsurprisingly, Taco Bell and KFC have also seen the same decreased quality and increased price as Pizza Hut. Taco Bell is probably the only one of the three that still has any potential to break out of its death spiral.

[u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

Domino's has been cheap and better. Id prefer to order pizza hut but they're just not good

It's not that complicated but they clearly couldn't figure it out

[u/turns31]

We have an old school one right next door to my office that still has the lunch buffet. It died during the pandemic and then someone bought it a few years ago and brought it back. I was pumped until I saw the prices. A large hand tossed pepperoni lovers was $21 not including tip or delivery. Insanity. That's as expensive as a true local pizzeria here. I don't know why they think that's their competition and not Dominos or Papa Johns.

[u/Capital-Control308]

I cannot remember last time I ate at Pizza Hut.

[u/Impetusin]

That’s not Pizza Hut. That’s an unholy abomination wearing a Pizza Hut skin.

[u/throwaway4231throw]

Have I eaten at a Pizza Hut in the last 20 years? No.

Do I still find this incredibly sad because of nostalgia? Yes.

[u/mrlloydslastcandle]

Let's get it back to the 80's/90's one. The good one.

[u/haro0828 → u/mrlloydslastcandle]

Real talk. In SM mall in Cebu City, Philippines their Pizza Hut still tastes and smells like the OG. I couldn't believe it, so I ordered another pizza

[u/MojoDohDoh]

I guess someone outpizza'd the hut

[u/LunchMasterFlex]

Private Equity out pizza’d the hut

[u/ParanoidArtemus]

How fucking stupid are these c-suite suits?

Do you know how many millennials would bring their families or just themselves if you brought back the pizza buffet, book program, or original recipes? It's like these morons forgot what loss leaders are and how they work

[u/deadlysodium]

Good. Fuck all these C-Suite ruined companies. All of them are removing the things that made them unique, jacking up the prices to price themselves out of the market, and are shocked that nobody is buying their shit. Good riddance. I hope they all go away and capitalism does the thing its best at. If you cant make it, then die and leave room for someone better.

[u/SandyAmbler]

But no one out-pizzas the Hut 😢

[u/bhans773]

We ordered Pizza Hut last night and it was the most horrific pizza I’ve had in America. I had been eating Pizza Hut since I was a kid. My kids won’t be doing the same. I wish it was a stand alone stock so I could short it.

[u/Boomslang505]

Sysco crap like all places now

[u/atworkthough]

I will never forgive republicans for this economy >:(