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At one time, Pizza Hut was the top choice for groups and loved ones to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

However not as many customers are visiting the brand currently, and it is shutting down a significant portion of its UK locations after being rescued from insolvency for the second occasion this calendar year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says Prudence. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” But now, in her mid-twenties, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

According to 23-year-old Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been famous for since it started in the UK in the 1970s are now not-so-hot.

“How they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it seems as if they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Since ingredient expenses have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to maintain. The same goes for its outlets, which are being sliced from over 130 to just over 60.

The chain, similar to other firms, has also experienced its expenses increase. Earlier this year, employee wages jumped due to higher minimum pay and an rise in employer taxes.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they get delivery from a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

Based on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are similar, notes a food expert.

Even though Pizza Hut provides takeaway and deliveries through delivery platforms, it is missing out to larger chains which focus exclusively to this market.

“The rival chain has taken over the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and constantly running deals that make consumers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the base costs are quite high,” explains the analyst.

However for these customers it is worth it to get their special meal delivered to their door.

“We predominantly have meals at home now instead of we eat out,” explains Joanne, matching latest data that show a drop in people visiting quick-service eateries.

In the warmer season, informal dining venues saw a 6% drop in patrons compared to the year before.

Moreover, another rival to ordered-in pies: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

A hospitality expert, senior partner at a leading firm, notes that not only have retailers been providing good-standard oven-ready pizzas for a long time – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.

“Lifestyle changes are also contributing in the popularity of casual eateries,” says the analyst.

The increased interest of protein-rich eating plans has driven sales at poultry outlets, while hitting sales of dough-based meals, he adds.

As people go out to eat not as often, they may prefer a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more dated than upmarket.

The growth of artisanal pizza places” over the last several years, such as new entrants, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what good pizza is,” explains the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a carefully curated additions, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's led to Pizza Hut's struggles,” she comments.

“Who would choose to spend a high price on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a large brand when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted Margherita for a lower price at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who owns Smokey Deez based in Suffolk explains: “The issue isn’t that lost interest in pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

The owner says his adaptable business can offer gourmet pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with new customer habits.

At Pizzarova in Bristol, the founder says the industry is expanding but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“Currently available are slice concepts, London pizza, new haven, fermented dough, Neapolitan, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza enthusiast to explore.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “should transform” as the youth don't have any emotional connection or allegiance to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's share has been sliced up and distributed to its fresher, faster competitors. To maintain its high labor and location costs, it would have to raise prices – which experts say is tough at a time when family finances are shrinking.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's international markets said the acquisition aimed “to protect our guest experience and retain staff where possible”.

He said its immediate priority was to continue operating at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to help employees through the restructure.

However with large sums going into operating its locations, it probably cannot to invest too much in its off-premise division because the sector is “complex and working with existing third-party platforms comes at a expense”, analysts say.

But, he adds, reducing expenses by leaving competitive urban areas could be a smart move to evolve.