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At one time, Pizza Hut was the go-to for families and friends to enjoy its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, endless salad selection, and ice cream with toppings.

Yet a declining number of customers are frequenting the restaurant nowadays, and it is shutting down 50% of its British restaurants after being acquired following financial trouble for the second instance this year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains Prudence. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she states “it's fallen out of favor.”

In the view of a diner in her twenties, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now not-so-hot.

“How they do their buffet and their salad station, it appears that they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Since grocery costs have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to operate. As have its outlets, which are being cut from over 130 to 64.

The company, in common with competitors, has also seen its operating costs rise. Earlier this year, staffing costs increased due to increases in the legal wage floor and an increase in employer social security payments.

Two diners say they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they get delivery from another pizza brand and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Depending on your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are close, notes an industry analyst.

While Pizza Hut has takeaway and deliveries through delivery platforms, it is missing out to big rivals which specialize to the delivery sector.

“The rival chain has taken over the delivery market thanks to strong promotions and constantly running deals that make shoppers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are on the higher side,” notes the analyst.

But for the couple it is worth it to get their evening together brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now instead of we eat out,” says one of the diners, reflecting current figures that show a drop in people frequenting quick-service eateries.

Over the summer, informal dining venues saw a notable decrease in customers compared to last summer.

Moreover, one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

An industry leader, head of leisure and hospitality at a leading firm, points out that not only have supermarkets been offering high-quality prepared pies for years – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.

“Shifts in habits are also playing a factor in the success of casual eateries,” says the expert.

The growing trend of low-carb regimens has increased sales at chicken shops, while reducing sales of high-carbohydrate options, he notes.

As people visit restaurants less frequently, they may look for a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more old-fashioned than luxurious.

The rise of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, for example popular brands, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what good pizza is,” says the industry commentator.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a carefully curated additions, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.

“Why would anyone spend £17.99 on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

Dan Puddle, who owns Smokey Deez based in Suffolk says: “People haven’t fallen out of love with pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

He says his flexible operation can offer gourmet pizza at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with evolving tastes.

From the perspective of a small pizza brand in a city in southwest England, owner Jack Lander says the industry is expanding but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“Currently available are by-the-slice options, London pizza, new haven, fermented dough, Neapolitan, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any emotional connection or loyalty to the chain.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been divided and distributed to its trendier, more nimble alternatives. To sustain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to increase costs – which experts say is difficult at a time when household budgets are tightening.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the buyout aimed “to protect our customer service and save employment where possible”.

He said its first focus was to continue operating at the surviving locations and delivery sites and to assist staff through the restructure.

Yet with large sums going into maintaining its outlets, it may be unable to allocate significant resources in its off-premise division because the industry is “complex and partnering with existing external services comes at a cost”, experts say.

However, it's noted, lowering overhead by withdrawing from competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adapt.