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Once, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for parents and children to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, endless salad selection, and make-your-own dessert.

But not as many customers are visiting the chain nowadays, and it is reducing a significant portion of its British outlets after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains a young adult. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” But now, as a young adult, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

In the view of young customer Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it seems as if they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How?’”

Since food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to run. As have its restaurants, which are being sliced from a large number to 64.

The company, in common with competitors, has also seen its operating costs increase. In April this year, labor expenses jumped due to higher minimum pay and an rise in employer taxes.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they get delivery from Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

According to your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are close, says a food expert.

Even though Pizza Hut provides off-premise options through third-party apps, it is losing out to larger chains which specialize to this market.

“The rival chain has succeeded in leading the delivery market thanks to aggressive marketing and ongoing discounts that make customers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the standard rates are on the higher side,” notes the specialist.

Yet for these customers it is acceptable to get their special meal delivered to their door.

“We absolutely dine at home now instead of we eat out,” comments one of the diners, reflecting latest data that show a drop in people going to casual and fast-food restaurants.

Over the summer, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a six percent decline in diners compared to the previous year.

Moreover, a further alternative to pizza from eateries: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at an advisory group, explains that not only have supermarkets been selling premium prepared pies for quite a while – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.

“Shifts in habits are also having an impact in the popularity of fast-food chains,” states the analyst.

The growing trend of low-carb regimens has increased sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he continues.

Since people dine out more rarely, they may seek out a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more old-fashioned than luxurious.

The rise of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, including boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the consumer view of what good pizza is,” says the food expert.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a few choice toppings, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's led to Pizza Hut's struggles,” she states.

“Who would choose to spend £17.99 on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who operates Smokey Deez based in a county in England comments: “It's not that fallen out of love with pizza – they just want improved value.”

He says his mobile setup can offer premium pizza at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it failed to adapt with evolving tastes.

At an independent chain in a UK location, the proprietor says the sector is broadening but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“There are now by-the-slice options, artisanal styles, thin crust, artisan base, traditional Italian, rectangular – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza-loving consumer to try.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as the youth don't have any emotional connection or allegiance to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's share has been divided and distributed to its more modern, agile competitors. To maintain its high labor and location costs, it would have to raise prices – which experts say is challenging at a time when family finances are shrinking.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's global operations said the rescue aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

He said its immediate priority was to maintain service at the surviving locations and delivery sites and to assist staff through the change.

However with so much money going into operating its locations, it likely can't afford to spend heavily in its off-premise division because the sector is “complicated and using existing external services comes at a expense”, commentators say.

But, he adds, cutting its costs by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a good way to adjust.