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Once, Pizza Hut was the favorite for parents and children to feast on its unlimited dining experience, endless salad selection, and self-serve ice-cream.

But not as many customers are choosing the chain these days, and it is shutting down half of its UK locations after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says Prudence. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” But now, as a young adult, she says “it's not a thing anymore.”

For 23-year-old Martina, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been famous for since it opened in the UK in the mid-20th century are now less appealing.

“The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it seems as if they are lowering standards and have inferior offerings... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Because food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to run. As have its locations, which are being sliced from over 130 to just over 60.

The company, like many others, has also experienced its expenses increase. In April this year, labor expenses rose due to higher minimum pay and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

Two diners say they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they get delivery from another pizza brand and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

According to your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are close, says a culinary author.

While Pizza Hut does offer pickup and delivery through external services, it is losing out to big rivals which focus exclusively to this market.

“Another pizza company has succeeded in leading the off-premise pizza industry thanks to strong promotions and frequent offers that make consumers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the original prices are relatively expensive,” explains the specialist.

But for Chris and Joanne it is worth it to get their special meal brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now instead of we eat out,” comments Joanne, matching current figures that show a drop in people frequenting quick-service eateries.

In the warmer season, informal dining venues saw a 6% drop in patrons compared to the previous year.

Moreover, another rival to ordered-in pies: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, explains that not only have retailers been offering high-quality prepared pies for years – some are even promoting countertop ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also having an impact in the performance of fast-food chains,” comments the expert.

The growing trend of protein-rich eating plans has driven sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of carb-heavy pizza, he notes.

As people go out to eat more rarely, they may look for a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more retro than premium.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last several years, including new entrants, has “dramatically shifted the public's perception of what quality pizza is,” explains the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a few choice toppings, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's struggles,” she comments.

“What person would spend a high price on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made classic pizza for under a tenner at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

An independent operator, who runs Smokey Deez based in Suffolk explains: “It's not that stopped liking pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

He says his mobile setup can offer gourmet pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it could not keep up with new customer habits.

At an independent chain in a city in southwest England, owner Jack Lander says the pizza market is expanding but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything innovative.

“You now have individual slices, regional varieties, new haven, sourdough, wood-fired, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza enthusiast to discover.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as newer generations don't have any sense of nostalgia or allegiance to the company.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's share has been divided and allocated to its trendier, more nimble competitors. To maintain its high labor and location costs, it would have to charge more – which commentators say is tough at a time when personal spending are tightening.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's global operations said the buyout aimed “to ensure our guest experience and retain staff where possible”.

It was explained its immediate priority was to keep running at the surviving locations and delivery sites and to assist staff through the change.

Yet with significant funds going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to spend heavily in its off-premise division because the industry is “complex and working with existing third-party platforms comes at a cost”, experts say.

Still, experts suggest, reducing expenses by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a good way to evolve.