Pizza Hut closing hundreds of stores

Restaurant chain moving focus to takeout, delivery

Pizza Hut is all fired up about takeout and delivery, and plans to shut down more than 500 stores nationwide in the next two years.

There’s no list yet of which stores will close but the focus will be on older and under-performing dine-in locations, according to the pizza franchise.

There are more than 500 Pizza Huts in Florida, according to the company’s website. It did not specify which were dine-in.

The transition toward delivery and carryout is part of a dual action plan to modernize and strengthen the long-term forecast for one of America’s biggest pizza chains, Food Business News reported.

“This will ultimately strengthen the Pizza Hut business in the U.S. and set it up for a faster longterm growth,” David Gibbs, president of Yum! Brands, said in an Aug. 1 earnings call.

Yum! Brands is Pizza Hut’s parent company.

Based in Louisville, Ky., it is also parent to Taco Bell and KFC.

Those two fast-food restaurants are also planning on a delivery focused future.

KFC, which is partnering with Grubhub, now has 2,300 stores in the United States offering delivery and Taco Bell has 4,500, according to Food Business Network.

“Pizza Hut continues to develop tailored action plans for our largest dine-in markets,” CEO of Yum! Brands Greg Creed said during the earnings call, Today.com reported.

Pizza Hut has 7,496 stores across the country. Of those, 6,100 are so-called traditional restaurants and 1,350 are express locations, People.com reported.