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Once, 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.

But fewer customers are frequenting the chain these days, and it is closing 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,” notes Prudence. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” But now, in her mid-twenties, she states “it's fallen out of favor.”

For 23-year-old Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been famous for since it started in the UK in the 1970s are now not-so-hot.

“The manner in which they do their buffet and their salad station, it feels like they are cutting corners and have reduced quality... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

As ingredient expenses have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to operate. As have its locations, which are being reduced from 132 to 64.

The business, like many others, has also experienced its operating costs increase. Earlier this year, employee wages jumped due to increases in the legal wage floor and an rise in employer national insurance contributions.

A couple in their thirties and twenties 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 “not good value”.

According to your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are similar, notes a food expert.

Although Pizza Hut does offer takeaway and deliveries through third-party apps, it is losing out to big rivals which focus exclusively to off-premise dining.

“Domino's has succeeded in leading the delivery market thanks to strong promotions and constantly running deals that make customers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the standard rates are quite high,” says the analyst.

However for the couple it is justified to get their special meal sent directly.

“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” explains the female customer, matching latest data that show a decline in people frequenting casual and fast-food restaurants.

Over the summer, quick-service eateries saw a 6% drop in customers compared to the year before.

There is also another rival to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, notes that not only have grocery stores been providing good-standard prepared pies for years – some are even offering countertop ovens.

“Shifts in habits are also playing a factor in the success of fast-food chains,” comments the analyst.

The increased interest of protein-rich eating plans has increased sales at grilled chicken brands, while affecting sales of dough-based meals, he adds.

As people visit restaurants less frequently, they may seek out a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with vinyl benches and nostalgic table settings can feel more retro than upmarket.

The “explosion of high-quality pizzerias” over the last several years, including boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what excellent pie is,” says the culinary analyst.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a few choice toppings, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's led to Pizza Hut's downfall,” she states.

“Who would choose to spend nearly eighteen pounds on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a large brand when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

An independent operator, who runs Smokey Deez based in Suffolk comments: “People haven’t stopped liking pizza – they just want improved value.”

The owner says his flexible operation can offer high-quality pie at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it failed to adapt with new customer habits.

At Pizzarova in a UK location, the proprietor says the pizza market is broadening but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything new.

“You now have by-the-slice options, London pizza, new haven, sourdough, traditional Italian, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza-loving consumer to try.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any fond memories or attachment to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's share has been sliced up and spread to its more modern, agile alternatives. To keep up its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to increase costs – which industry analysts say is tough at a time when personal spending are tightening.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's international markets said the buyout aimed “to ensure our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

The executive stated its key goal was to maintain service at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to assist staff through the restructure.

Yet with so much money going into operating its locations, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its takeaway operation because the market is “difficult and partnering with existing third-party platforms comes at a price”, analysts say.

But, he adds, reducing expenses by exiting crowded locations could be a smart move to adjust.