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At one time, Pizza Hut was the favorite for parents and children to enjoy its unlimited dining experience, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet a declining number of customers are frequenting the chain nowadays, and it is closing a significant portion of its British restaurants after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes a young adult. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” Today, as a young adult, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

In the view of 23-year-old Martina, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been famous for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.

“The manner in which they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad bar, it feels like they are cheapening on their quality and have reduced quality... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

As grocery costs have soared, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become very expensive to operate. As have its locations, which are being sliced from a large number to just over 60.

The chain, like many others, has also experienced its expenses rise. In April this year, labor expenses rose due to rises in minimum wages and an rise in employer taxes.

Two diners mention they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they choose Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Based on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are close, notes an industry analyst.

Even though Pizza Hut has off-premise options through delivery platforms, it is falling behind to larger chains which solely cater to off-premise dining.

“Domino's has taken over the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and frequent offers that make shoppers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the base costs are on the higher side,” explains the analyst.

But for these customers it is justified to get their date night delivered to their door.

“We absolutely dine at home now rather than we eat out,” says Joanne, matching recent statistics that show a drop in people visiting quick-service eateries.

In the warmer season, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a six percent decline in diners compared to last summer.

There is also one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

An industry leader, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, notes that not only have supermarkets been selling premium ready-to-bake pizzas for quite a while – some are even selling countertop ovens.

“Shifts in habits are also playing a factor in the performance of casual eateries,” comments the analyst.

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

Since people go out to eat not as often, they may seek out a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more dated than luxurious.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last 10 to 15 years, for example new entrants, has “fundamentally changed the consumer view of what excellent pie is,” explains the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a select ingredients, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's led to Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.

“What person would spend £17.99 on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a large brand when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted classic pizza for a lower price at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a small business based in a regional area says: “It's not that lost interest in pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

Dan says his flexible operation can offer premium pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it was unable to evolve with changing preferences.

According to a small pizza brand in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the industry is diversifying but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“Currently available are slice concepts, artisanal styles, new haven, artisan base, wood-fired, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pie fan to try.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any sense of nostalgia or allegiance to the brand.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been sliced up and allocated to its fresher, faster competitors. To sustain its costly operations, it would have to charge more – which industry analysts say is challenging at a time when family finances are tightening.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible”.

He said its key goal was to keep running at the open outlets and off-premise points and to assist staff through the transition.

Yet with so much money going into operating its locations, it likely can't afford to allocate significant resources in its takeaway operation because the industry is “difficult and working with existing external services comes at a cost”, commentators say.

However, it's noted, cutting its costs by withdrawing from competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adjust.