Pizza Hut’s parent company is planning to close 250 locations across the United States as the iconic restaurant struggles with sales.
The closures are set to happen over the next few months as Yum Brands zeroes in on underperforming locations, the Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday.
“Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands said in November it was conducting a formal review of options for Pizza Hut, which has struggled with outdated stores and growing competition. The chain’s U.S. same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 5% last year, Yum said,” the outlet stated.
However, Pizza Hut has done well with sales up one percent in 2025 and growth in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Despite the planned closures, the parent company has “reported strong earnings and raised its dividend, underscoring that the Pizza Hut closures reflect brand-specific challenges rather than broader weakness at the company,” according to Fox Business.
In 2024, almost 130 Pizza Huts in several states were at risk of being shut down due to financial issues, Breitbart News reported at the time.
“The locations are run by a franchisee who filed for bankruptcy in July and put them up for sale, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, noting there has been a financial dispute between the restaurant chain’s parent company and the franchisee known as EYM Group,” the outlet said.
According to WHAS, there are 20,000 Pizza Hut locations across the globe and 6,000 of them are in the United States.
“Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. PepsiCo acquired the chain in 1977 but spun off its restaurant division — which became Yum Brands — in 1997. Yum Brands also owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill,” the AP article said.
In 1995, President Donald Trump was featured in a Pizza Hut commercial when the business introduced its stuffed crust pizza:
Per the Fox article, the closures are part of the “Hut Forward” initiative to give the brand a facelift and improve franchise performance.
The outlet noted its parent company said it is “also reviewing broader strategic options for Pizza Hut, signaling the changes could be part of a deeper reset for the brand.”
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