Turns Out Pretty Much Everyone Out-Pizzas the Hut

"Once upon a time, pizza was the king of American fast food, and the second most common type of American restaurant. Today, pizza is merely the sixth most common. It's long since lost its status as the de facto food of the everyman, which leads us to the existential questions: Can pizza be saved? And whether or not pizza as a category can be saved, there's still the issue of the elephant in the room. That elephant is Pizza Hut."

"Once the undisputed king of the American pizza landscape, Pizza Hut peaked in global influence in the mid-1990s amid the launch of prime nostalgia bait like the Personal Pan Pizza and the Stuffed Crust Pizza. In the decades since, it has stagnated and then languished, always slower to adapt than its peers-leading to this week's news of the latest wave of closures. Parent company Yum Brands will shutter another 250 Pizza Hut locations in the United States."

"In recent years, Pizza Hut has been consistently losing market share to the likes of Domino's, Papa John's, Little Caesars, and countless others, seemingly torn between customer nostalgia for its red-topped dine-in restaurants and the transition of the pizza industry itself to predominantly takeout and delivery. Pizza Hut's same-store sales in the U.S. fell 5% in 2025, while Domino's were up at least 2.7% during the first nine months of the year."

Pizza has fallen from its earlier cultural prominence, dropping from the second to the sixth most common American restaurant type. Pizza Hut, once the dominant national chain, peaked in the mid-1990s with products like the Personal Pan Pizza and Stuffed Crust Pizza but has since stagnated and lagged behind rivals. Yum Brands plans to close 250 U.S. Pizza Hut locations and is considering selling the brand. Competitors such as Domino's, Papa John's, and Little Caesars have gained share as Pizza Hut's U.S. same-store sales fell 5% in 2025 while Domino's grew in sales and locations.

Read at Jezebel