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At one time, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for groups and loved ones to enjoy its all-you-can-eat buffet, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

However a declining number of diners are visiting the restaurant nowadays, and it is reducing 50% of its UK outlets after being bought out of administration for the second occasion this calendar year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says one London shopper. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” But now, aged 24, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

For young customer Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad bar, it seems as if they are lowering standards and have inferior offerings... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Since food prices have soared, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become very expensive to run. The same goes for its restaurants, which are being sliced from a large number to 64.

The business, like many others, has also seen its expenses go up. This spring, labor expenses rose due to rises in minimum wages and an rise in employer taxes.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 explain they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they choose Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Based on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are comparable, explains a culinary author.

Although Pizza Hut does offer takeaway and deliveries through external services, it is falling behind to major competitors which focus exclusively to this market.

“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the off-premise pizza industry thanks to aggressive marketing and constantly running deals that make customers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the standard rates are on the higher side,” explains the expert.

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

“We absolutely dine at home now instead of we eat out,” says Joanne, reflecting current figures that show a decrease in people frequenting informal dining spots.

Over the summer, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a 6% drop in diners compared to the previous year.

Additionally, a further alternative to pizza from eateries: the frozen or fresh pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, explains that not only have supermarkets been selling good-standard oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.

“Shifts in habits are also playing a factor in the success of fast-food chains,” says Mr. Hawkley.

The increased interest of low-carb regimens has increased sales at grilled chicken brands, while hitting sales of dough-based meals, he continues.

As people visit restaurants less frequently, they may prefer a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's classic look with vinyl benches and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more retro than upmarket.

The rise of premium pizza outlets” over the last 10 to 15 years, for example boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what excellent pie is,” notes the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a few choice toppings, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's caused Pizza Hut's downfall,” she says.

“Who would choose to spend nearly eighteen pounds on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a chain when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted classic pizza for a lower price at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

Dan Puddle, who operates a pizza van based in a county in England comments: “People haven’t stopped liking pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

Dan says his mobile setup can offer gourmet pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with changing preferences.

From the perspective of an independent chain in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the pizza market is expanding but Pizza Hut has not provided anything new.

“You now have individual slices, regional varieties, thin crust, sourdough, Neapolitan, Detroit – it's a wonderful array for a pizza-loving consumer to explore.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as newer generations don't have any fond memories or attachment to the company.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's market has been sliced up and distributed to its trendier, more nimble rivals. To sustain its high labor and location costs, it would have to raise prices – which experts say is difficult at a time when family finances are tightening.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's international markets said the buyout aimed “to protect our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

He said its key goal was to maintain service at the remaining 64 restaurants and takeaway hubs and to assist staff through the change.

However with large sums going into running its restaurants, it likely can't afford to allocate significant resources in its takeaway operation because the market is “complicated and working with existing delivery apps comes at a cost”, commentators say.

Still, experts suggest, lowering overhead by exiting competitive urban areas could be a smart move to evolve.