Pizza Hut Announces They Plan to Close 300 Stores Nationwide

Thanks to COVID-19, pizza in, has pretty much become pizza out. Delivery and carryout pizza orders have completely dominated dine-in pizza consumption as the pandemic continues to linger on, and many people across the country are still forced to shelter in place.

Consequently, a number of pizza restaurants that specialize in the dine-in experience have been hit hard during the COVID crisis.

Dakota News Now is reporting, nearly 300 Pizza Hut restaurants plan to close most of their dine-in locations that are not well suited for carryout and delivery as more and more people are forced to eat from home due to the pandemic.

While it's true pizza sales have been off the charts in most cases during the pandemic, for example, Domino's reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits last month. Business has been so good, Domino's plans to hire more than 20,000 people to help handle the surge in orders.

The Domino's model is built entirely on carryout and delivery. Many Pizza Hut locations, not so much.

That's why, according to Dakota News Now, NPC International, which now owns 1,225 of the 7000 Pizza Hut locations nationwide, announced in their (August 17) bankruptcy court filling, they have come to an agreement with Pizza Hut to close hundreds of under performing locations.

NPC intends to close most stores in the U.S. that are not designed for carryout and delivery, and instead, invest in smaller stores that can better handle online orders. The move will help to strengthen NPC's remaining portfolio.

According to SiouxFalls.Business, NPC announced back in July, they plan to keep their four Sioux Falls Pizza Hut locations open at this time.

Source: Dakota News Now