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Once, the popular pizza chain was the favorite for groups and loved ones to feast on its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, unlimited salad bar, and self-serve ice-cream.

Yet fewer patrons are choosing the restaurant these days, and it is reducing 50% of its British outlets after being rescued from insolvency for the second occasion this year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains Prudence. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” Today, aged 24, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

In the view of young customer Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been famous for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now not-so-hot.

“The manner in which they do their buffet and their salad bar, it appears that they are lowering standards and have reduced quality... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How?’”

Because grocery costs have soared, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to operate. The same goes for its restaurants, which are being cut from a large number to 64.

The business, similar to other firms, has also faced its costs rise. This spring, labor expenses rose due to higher minimum pay and an increase in employer social security payments.

A couple in their thirties and twenties explain they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they choose Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

Depending on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are comparable, says a culinary author.

Although Pizza Hut does offer off-premise options through external services, it is falling behind to larger chains which focus exclusively to off-premise dining.

“Another pizza company has succeeded in leading the off-premise pizza industry thanks to strong promotions and constantly running deals that make shoppers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are quite high,” notes the analyst.

But for Chris and Joanne it is acceptable to get their special meal sent directly.

“We definitely eat at home now rather than we eat out,” explains the female customer, matching recent statistics that show a decline in people visiting informal dining spots.

In the warmer season, informal dining venues saw a six percent decline in customers compared to the previous year.

There is also another rival to ordered-in pies: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

A hospitality expert, senior partner at an advisory group, notes that not only have grocery stores been providing high-quality oven-ready pizzas for a long time – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also having an impact in the success of quick-service brands,” comments the expert.

The growing trend of high protein diets has boosted sales at poultry outlets, while hitting sales of dough-based meals, he continues.

As people dine out less frequently, they may prefer a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more retro than luxurious.

The growth of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, including new entrants, has “dramatically shifted the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” says the food expert.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a carefully curated additions, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's led to Pizza Hut's struggles,” she says.

“What person would spend nearly eighteen pounds on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made classic pizza for less than ten pounds at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who operates a small business based in a regional area says: “The issue isn’t that stopped liking pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

Dan says his flexible operation can offer gourmet pizza at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it failed to adapt with new customer habits.

According to an independent chain in Bristol, the founder says the sector is broadening but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything innovative.

“Currently available are slice concepts, regional varieties, thin crust, fermented dough, Neapolitan, deep-dish – it's a wonderful array for a pizza-loving consumer to explore.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “should transform” as newer generations don't have any fond memories or attachment to the brand.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's customer base has been divided and spread to its fresher, faster competitors. To maintain its costly operations, it would have to charge more – which commentators say is difficult at a time when household budgets are decreasing.

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

The executive stated its key goal was to maintain service at the open outlets and off-premise points and to assist staff through the change.

Yet with so much money going into running its restaurants, it likely can't afford to spend heavily in its delivery service because the market is “difficult and working with existing third-party platforms comes at a expense”, experts say.

Still, experts suggest, lowering overhead by exiting competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adjust.