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In the past, Pizza Hut was the favorite for groups and loved ones to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, endless salad selection, and self-serve ice-cream.

Yet a declining number of patrons are choosing the chain currently, and it is closing a significant portion of its British locations after being bought out of administration for the second time this year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains one London shopper. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

According to a diner in her twenties, certain features Pizza Hut has been famous for since it launched in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.

“How they do their buffet and their salad bar, it seems as if they are lowering standards and have inferior offerings... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Because food prices have soared, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to run. As have its restaurants, which are being sliced from over 130 to a smaller figure.

The business, like many others, has also seen its operating costs increase. In April this year, employee wages increased due to rises in minimum wages and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they order in a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

According to your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are close, notes a culinary author.

While Pizza Hut provides off-premise options through delivery platforms, it is falling behind to larger chains which solely cater to off-premise dining.

“Domino's has taken over the delivery market thanks to strong promotions and frequent offers that make customers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the original prices are relatively expensive,” explains the expert.

But for Chris and Joanne it is justified to get their date night brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now rather than we eat out,” says one of the diners, matching current figures that show a drop in people going to casual and fast-food restaurants.

During the summer months, quick-service eateries saw a notable decrease in customers compared to the year before.

Additionally, a further alternative to ordered-in pies: the frozen or fresh pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at a major consultancy, notes that not only have supermarkets been selling premium oven-ready pizzas for a long time – some are even promoting home-pizza ovens.

“Shifts in habits are also playing a factor in the success of quick-service brands,” comments the expert.

The increased interest of protein-rich eating plans has boosted sales at grilled chicken brands, while hitting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

Because people visit restaurants more rarely, they may prefer a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more dated than upmarket.

The rise of high-quality pizzerias” over the last 10 to 15 years, such as boutique chains, has “completely altered the consumer view of what excellent pie is,” notes the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a carefully curated additions, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's downfall,” she states.

“Who would choose to spend a high price on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for a lower price at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

Dan Puddle, who runs Smokey Deez based in a regional area explains: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

Dan says his flexible operation can offer high-quality pie at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it could not keep up with new customer habits.

At a small pizza brand in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the pizza market is diversifying but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“You now have individual slices, regional varieties, New Haven-style, artisan base, Neapolitan, Detroit – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as the youth don't have any emotional connection or loyalty to the brand.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's customer base has been fragmented and spread to its trendier, more nimble competitors. To keep up its high labor and location costs, it would have to increase costs – which industry analysts say is challenging at a time when family finances are shrinking.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to ensure our customer service and save employment where possible”.

It was explained its key goal was to continue operating at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to assist staff through the restructure.

Yet with large sums going into running its restaurants, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its takeaway operation because the market is “difficult and using existing delivery apps comes at a cost”, commentators say.

But, he adds, reducing expenses by leaving oversaturated towns and city centres could be a smart move to adjust.