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Pizza Hut announces they will be closing nearly 300 restaurants

Nearly 300 Pizza Hut restaurants are slated to permanently close following the bankruptcy of NPC International, one of the chain’s largest franchisees. NPC’s Pizza Hut locations account for 18 percent of the chain’s nearly 7,000 or so locations.

The company filed for Chapter 11 in July and announced its agreement with Pizza Hut’s owner Yum! Brands to sell a quarter of its restaurants and sell the remaining locations, a “substantial majority” of which have dining rooms.

The ongoing pandemic forced many Pizza Hut storefronts to shut down, causing NPC International to rack up a massive debt of nearly $1 billion. Rising labor and food costs also contributed to NPC’s bankruptcy.

Pizza Hut released a statement saying that the 300 United States locations scheduled to shut down “significantly underperform” compared with the rest of NPC’s Pizza Hut locations. Like many other restaurants, the pizza chain has been moving away from opening and operating restaurants with dining rooms.

Due to coronavirus-related shutdowns, Pizza Hut has been encouraging customers to order pick-up through its website or third-party apps.

“We have continued to work with NPC and its lenders to optimize NPC’s Pizza Hut restaurant footprint and strengthen the portfolio for the future, and today’s joint agreement to close up to 300 NPC Pizza Hut restaurants is an important step toward a healthier business,” Pizza Hut said.

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by, two university students, Dan and Frank Carney. Known for its Italian American cuisine, Pizza Hut boomed and 20 years later, became part of a new company (along with Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken) named Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. The company changed its name to Yum! Brands in 2002.

Pizza Hut has expanded its international presence and is located in places like Canada, Thailand, Germany, and South Africa.

By: Maytinee Kramer