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Once, Pizza Hut was the favorite for families and friends to enjoy its all-you-can-eat buffet, help-yourself greens station, and ice cream with toppings.

Yet not as many patrons are visiting the brand currently, and it is shutting down a significant portion of its British outlets after being bought out of administration for the second time this year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes one London shopper. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” However, at present, aged 24, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

According to a diner in her twenties, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now not-so-hot.

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

Because grocery costs have soared, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become quite costly to maintain. As have its locations, which are being cut from over 130 to a smaller figure.

The business, similar to other firms, has also faced its expenses rise. This spring, staffing costs increased due to higher minimum pay and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

Two diners explain they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they choose another pizza brand and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

According to your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are similar, notes a food expert.

Even though Pizza Hut does offer off-premise options through third-party apps, it is losing out to big rivals which solely cater to this market.

“Domino's has taken over the delivery market thanks to strong promotions and constantly running deals that make shoppers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the base costs are quite high,” says the analyst.

But for these customers it is acceptable to get their date night delivered to their door.

“We predominantly have meals at home now rather than we eat out,” says one of the diners, echoing latest data that show a decline in people going to quick-service eateries.

In the warmer season, quick-service eateries saw a 6% drop in diners compared to the previous year.

There is also one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the frozen or fresh pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at an advisory group, points out that not only have grocery stores been selling high-quality prepared pies for years – some are even offering home-pizza ovens.

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

The rising popularity of protein-rich eating plans has increased sales at chicken shops, while hitting sales of dough-based meals, he adds.

Since people visit restaurants more rarely, they may look for a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with vinyl benches and nostalgic table settings can feel more old-fashioned than upmarket.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last several years, for example popular brands, has “dramatically shifted the general opinion of what excellent pie is,” explains the food expert.

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

“Why would anyone spend £17.99 on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made Margherita for less than ten pounds at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who operates a pizza van based in a county in England says: “It's not that stopped liking pizza – they just want improved value.”

The owner says his adaptable business can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with new customer habits.

At a small pizza brand in a UK location, the proprietor says the pizza market is diversifying but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything innovative.

“You now have individual slices, regional varieties, thin crust, fermented dough, traditional Italian, rectangular – it's a wonderful array for a pizza-loving consumer to try.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as newer generations don't have any emotional connection or attachment to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's share has been sliced up and spread to its more modern, agile rivals. To sustain its costly operations, it would have to raise prices – which commentators say is challenging at a time when family finances are tightening.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's international markets said the acquisition aimed “to protect our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

He said its immediate priority was to maintain service at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to support colleagues through the change.

But with large sums going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to invest too much in its delivery service because the industry is “complicated and using existing delivery apps comes at a price”, analysts say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by withdrawing from oversaturated towns and city centres could be a good way to evolve.