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In the past, Pizza Hut was the top choice for parents and children to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, unlimited salad bar, and self-serve ice-cream.

However not as many customers are choosing the restaurant nowadays, and it is closing half of its British outlets after being acquired following financial trouble 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.” Today, as a young adult, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

For a diner in her twenties, certain features Pizza Hut has been famous for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

“The manner in which they do their buffet and their salad station, it feels like they are lowering standards and have lower standards... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Since food prices have soared, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become very expensive to run. As have its locations, which are being cut from 132 to a smaller figure.

The chain, like many others, has also seen its expenses increase. This spring, staffing costs rose due to increases in the legal wage floor and an higher rate of employer taxes.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they order in a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Depending on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are similar, says a food expert.

While Pizza Hut has off-premise options through delivery platforms, it is missing out to big rivals which specialize to this market.

“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the delivery market thanks to aggressive marketing and frequent offers that make customers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the base costs are on the higher side,” notes the analyst.

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

“We definitely eat at home now instead of we eat out,” explains the female customer, echoing latest data that show a decrease in people going to informal dining spots.

Over the summer, informal dining venues saw a six percent decline in diners compared to the year before.

Additionally, a further alternative to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, senior partner at an advisory group, explains that not only have retailers been providing premium ready-to-bake pizzas for a long time – some are even promoting countertop ovens.

“Shifts in habits are also contributing in the performance of quick-service brands,” states the expert.

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

Because people dine out not as often, they may look for a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with booth seating and traditional décor can feel more dated than upmarket.

The “explosion of high-quality pizzerias” over the last several years, including boutique chains, has “dramatically shifted the general opinion of what quality pizza is,” says the food expert.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a select ingredients, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's downfall,” she states.

“What person would spend a high price on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a large brand when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted Margherita for less than ten pounds at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who operates a small business based in Suffolk comments: “It's not that stopped liking pizza – they just want improved value.”

Dan says his adaptable business can offer gourmet pizza at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it failed to adapt with evolving tastes.

At an independent chain in a UK location, the founder says the industry is expanding but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything fresh.

“You now have slice concepts, London pizza, New Haven-style, artisan base, wood-fired, deep-dish – it's a heavenly minefield for a pie fan to discover.”

The owner 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 fragmented and distributed to its fresher, faster rivals. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to charge more – which industry analysts say is challenging at a time when household budgets are decreasing.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's international markets said the buyout aimed “to safeguard our dining experience and save employment where possible”.

It was explained its key goal was to maintain service at the open outlets and off-premise points and to support colleagues through the restructure.

However with so much money going into running its restaurants, it may be unable to allocate significant resources in its takeaway operation because the industry is “difficult and partnering with existing delivery apps comes at a price”, experts say.

Still, experts suggest, lowering overhead by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a good way to adapt.