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Once, Pizza Hut was the go-to for groups and loved ones to indulge in its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet a declining number of diners are choosing the brand nowadays, and it is shutting down a significant portion of its British restaurants after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains Prudence. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” But now, aged 24, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

For young customer Martina, certain features 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 all-you-can-eat and their salad bar, it feels like they are cheapening on their quality and have reduced quality... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Because ingredient expenses have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become quite costly to run. The same goes for its locations, which are being sliced from 132 to 64.

The company, like many others, has also faced its expenses go up. Earlier this year, employee wages rose due to rises in minimum wages and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 explain they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they get delivery from a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Depending on your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are comparable, says an industry analyst.

Even though Pizza Hut does offer off-premise options through external services, it is missing out to larger chains which specialize to off-premise dining.

“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the delivery market thanks to aggressive marketing and ongoing discounts that make consumers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the standard rates are on the higher side,” explains the analyst.

However for the couple it is worth it to get their date night brought to their home.

“We predominantly have meals at home now rather than we eat out,” says one of the diners, echoing latest data that show a decrease in people visiting informal dining spots.

During the summer months, informal dining venues saw a six percent decline in diners compared to the previous year.

Moreover, another rival to restaurant and takeaway pizzas: the frozen or fresh pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at a major consultancy, points out that not only have supermarkets been providing good-standard prepared pies for quite a while – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.

“Lifestyle changes are also playing a factor in the success of fast-food chains,” says the expert.

The rising popularity of protein-rich eating plans has boosted sales at grilled chicken brands, while affecting sales of dough-based meals, he adds.

As people visit restaurants more rarely, they may prefer a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more old-fashioned than premium.

The “explosion of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, including boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what quality pizza is,” explains the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a select ingredients, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's caused Pizza Hut's downfall,” she states.

“Why would anyone spend a high price on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made Margherita for less than ten pounds at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

Dan Puddle, who owns Smokey Deez based in a regional area says: “It's not that lost interest in pizza – they just want improved value.”

The owner says his mobile setup can offer premium pizza at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it could not keep up with evolving tastes.

From the perspective of Pizzarova in Bristol, the proprietor says the sector is expanding but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything new.

“Currently available are individual slices, regional varieties, thin crust, artisan base, traditional Italian, rectangular – it's a wonderful array for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any sense of nostalgia or allegiance to the chain.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been fragmented and allocated to its fresher, faster competitors. To sustain its high labor and location costs, it would have to charge more – which experts say is tough at a time when personal spending are decreasing.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's international markets said the acquisition aimed “to ensure our dining experience and protect jobs where possible”.

He said its immediate priority was to keep running at the open outlets and delivery sites and to help employees through the change.

However with so much money going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to invest too much in its off-premise division because the sector is “complex and partnering with existing delivery apps comes at a cost”, commentators say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by leaving competitive urban areas could be a good way to adjust.