The Pizza Huts from your childhood are making a comeback. Here’s why
It was once a sacred place, ushering you inside with its signature red roof and comforting smell of bubbling cheese in a special era now known lovingly as “the ’90s.”
In its prime, Pizza Hut wasn’t just a restaurant chain — it was an experience. The stained glass lamps, red booths and red cups. The fully loaded salad bar. The Pac-Man machines to keep you entertained while you waited for your personal-pan pizza.
“It was perfect,” says one of many TikTok videos of the experience.
“Felt like home,” someone commented on another nostalgic video.
Now, one of the largest franchisees in the U.S. is bringing Pizza Hut back to its retro glory days by revamping dozens of its locations, part of a larger overall push toward classic Pizza Huts.
Pizza Hut’s sales have been falling in the crowded pizza market, but the change, evidently, is popular. The “classic” locations owned by Daland Corporation are some of the chain’s top performers, with customers reportedly driving hours just to sit down and eat.
They’ve “been very positively received in the communities where we’ve converted them,” said Tim Sparks, president of the Kansas-based franchisee, which oversees 94 Pizza Hut locations across the U.S., though none in Canada.
Of those, Sparks has converted 38 into retro Pizza Huts since 2019, and plans to convert 12 more.
“These restaurants were built around dining-room experiences — families gathering after events, sports teams celebrating, kids enjoying arcade games like Pac-Man and even waiting for songs on the jukebox,” he told CBC News.
“It is a very different experience from simply picking up or having a pizza delivered.”
Elusive no more
Until recently, “classic” Pizza Hut locations were elusive, not listed on the Pizza Hut website, but widely sought after and celebrated by those who made the pilgrimage.
People shared their finds on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok and Substack, where they described driving hours out of their way for an experience that was, “in every way, so worth it.”
According to the New York Times, the first classic remodel was in 2019 in Ashdown, Ark., and only certain models in certain markets are eligible for the ’90s decor. Pizza Hut provides franchisees — like Daland Corporation — with a specific guidebook, the Times reports.
Now, the company appears to be leaning into the nostalgia.
Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell told NBC’s Today on Tuesday customers should expect “a real focus” on the classic experience, which was followed a day later by parent company Yum Brands advertising some 155 “retro” Pizza Huts across the U.S.
That number include the 38 Daland Corporation locations, Sparks confirmed.
CBC News has reached out to both Pizza Hut and Yum Brands for details, including whether Canada has any classic locations, but has not yet heard back
On social media, however, rumours exist of a smattering of…
Read More: The Pizza Huts from your childhood are making a comeback. Here’s why