Pizza Hut Closing 500 Dine-In Locations

Another sign of the times. Although retail has been in a slump for some time, now sit down restaurants are starting to feel the crunch too!

Pizza Hut indicated on an earnings call that they will increased focus on delivery and carryout. Pizza Hut also said, to do that, it plans to close as many as 500 dine-in locations. There was no specific locations mentioned on the call so we do not know if this will effect any of the Maine restaurants.

“We are leaning in to accelerate the transition of our Pizza Hut U.S. asset base to truly modern delivery/carryout assets,” said David W. Gibbs, president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Yum! Brands, in an Aug. 1 earnings call. “This will ultimately strengthen the Pizza Hut business in the U.S. and set it up for a faster long-term growth.

Sounds like they are moving more towards a Domino's Pizza type model for the future. Time will tell for sure.