Pizza Hut to close 250 stores in the US
Pizza Hut announced it will close 250 underperforming U.S. stores in 2026 as part of a strategic review by parent company Yum! brand.
Hungry customers want to go back in time and experience Pizza Hut like they did when they were kids.
Daland Corporation, the Kansas-based management company that oversees 94 Pizza Hut restaurants in New York and other states, brought back nostalgic items like vinyl booths, Tiffany-style lamps and classic arcade games.
Daland Corporation President Tim Sparks said his team has spent the past six years transforming the store into a nostalgic haven for Pizza Hut lovers.
Key items brought back by Daland Corporation include the company’s red cups, checkered tablecloths, salad bar and the pizza chain’s signature red roof design. The renovated restaurant will be called the Pizza Hut Classic store.
Sparks said Tiffany-type lampshades are difficult to find, but the attention Pizza Hut Classic stores receive online and from the media is helping find these lampshades.
“I use Amazon to find table arrangers and battery-powered candles,” he told USA TODAY in an email on May 22. “Pizza Hut originally had a vendor who made Tiffany-style lampshades, but they ended the relationship because they required a minimum order of 500 units. I would have bought 500 units, so I wasn’t involved in the process!”
USA TODAY asked on May 21 whether Pizza Hut would change the design of its non-franchised restaurants, but did not immediately receive a response.
TikTokers gather in classic locations
TikToker @Nateodd visited a classic Pizza Hut store in Salem, Ohio, which is not operated by Daland Corporation, in December 2024. The place had checkered booths and Pizza Hut’s classic red cups, just like Durland’s.
A user captioned the video: “We drove an hour to visit a ‘classic’ Pizza Hut decorated just like it was in our childhood.” “It features retro decor, including the famous chandelier and checkered booths.”
Other users agreed that the cups made the drinks taste better, while others recalled how crowded the restaurant was on Friday and Saturday nights in the 1990s.
“They’ve tried so many things,” one user wrote. “They don’t understand that if we all get back to normal, we can thrive.”
Where can I find a Pizza Hut Classic store near me?
Daland Corporation has already converted more than 30 stores into Pizza Hut Classic restaurants. The management company plans to convert 12 more companies over the next four years, Sparks told USA TODAY.
He estimates the redesign will cost between $90,000 and $95,000 per location.
The 38 Pizza Hut Classic stores operated by Daland Corporation are:
florida
- Homosassa – 4845 S. Suncoast Blvd.
georgia
- Blue Ridge – 4231 E. 1st St.
- Clayton – 248 Highway 441 N.
- Cornelia – 1604 441 Bypass
- Dahlonega – 1352 S. Chestatee
- Jasper – 1529 W. Church St.
Indiana
- Delphi – 806 Bike Bridge Road
- The Mott – 425 N. Halleck St.
- Knox – 1405 S. Heaton St.
- Paoli – 407 SW First St.
- Rensselaer – 410 S. College Ave.
- Rockville – 818 N. Lincoln Road
- Union City – 340 W. Deerfield Road
kentucky
- Beaver Dam – 1475 N. Main St.
- Flemingsburg – 524 Mt. Sterling Ave.
- Hardinsburg – 500 Old Highway 60 E.
Michigan
- Bad Ax – 790 N. VanDyke Road
- Caro – 815 State Street
- Charlevoix – 1303 Bridge St.
- Fremont – 330 W. Main St.
- Iron Mountain – 1600 S. Stephenson Ave.
- Sandusky – 412 W. Sanilac Road
new york
- Carthage – 60 Franklin St., Ste. 1
- Ogdensburg – 1010 Patterson St.
- Potsdam – 62 Market St.
north carolina
- Bryson City – 150 Highway 19 South
- Forest City – 786 South Church St.
- Franklin – 999 Georgia Road
ohio
- Georgetown – 4849 State Route 125 E.
- Waverly – 703 W. Emmitt Ave.
pennsylvania
- Tunkhannock – 828 Route 6 W.
virginia
- Appomattox – 150 Oakville Road
- Kilmarnock – 589 N. Main St.
- Louisa – Jefferson Highway 100
- Only – 25092 Lankford Hwy.
wisconsin
- Black River Falls – 666 E. State Route 54
- Prairie Du Chien – 1501 S. Marquette St. (classic restaurant opening soon)
- Rice Lake – 2395 S. Main St.
In addition to the 38 Pizza Hut Classic stores operated by Daland Corporation, there are many more Classic stores nationwide, according to Yum Brands, Pizza Hut’s parent company. Customers can find a list of all traditional Pizza Hut locations on Yum.com.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s Trends team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia (757). Email sdmartin@usatoday.com.
