"There are more than 6,000 Pizza Huts dotting the thoroughfares of the United States, and almost all of them look exactly the same: The interiors are squat, bland, and cramped; the dining options are restricted to takeout and delivery; there is no soundtrack, save for fluorescent lights buzzing overhead; and there is maybe a lonely chair waiting listlessly by the doorway."
"It was weekday lunchtime when I arrived on a chilly January day, and a real live waitress guided me to one of the waxy booths lining the tinted windows-a checkerboard linen flaring off the corners of the table in front of me. I hadn't been to a Pizza Hut in years, but relics of mid-'90s pizza parties immediately consumed my periphery. Above me hung a Tiffany-style lamp with the restaurant's name embossed in creamy frosted glass."
A Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania Pizza Hut remains one of the country's few sit-down locations, standing tall with a regal red-shingled roof in a strip-mall parking lot. Most Pizza Huts number over 6,000 nationwide and are standardized: squat, bland interiors focused on takeout and delivery, fluorescent lighting, and minimal seating. The Tunkhannock location offers waxy booths, checkerboard table linens, Tiffany-style lamps, and waitress service, alongside a fully stocked salad bar and classic plastic cups of Diet Coke. The setting evokes mid-1990s pizza-party relics and provides a nostalgic 20th-century ambiance. The restaurant draws visitors seeking comfort and familiarity amid the societal upheavals of the 2020s.
Read at Slate Magazine
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