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Once, Pizza Hut was the top choice for groups and loved ones to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, unlimited salad bar, and self-serve ice-cream.

However fewer customers are visiting the chain currently, and it is shutting down half of its British locations after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says a young adult. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” However, at present, aged 24, she says “it's no longer popular.”

For 23-year-old Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been famous for since it launched in the UK in the 1970s are now not-so-hot.

“How they do their buffet and their salad bar, it feels like they are cheapening on their quality and have inferior offerings... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Since food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become quite costly to run. Similarly, its restaurants, which are being cut from over 130 to a smaller figure.

The business, similar to other firms, has also experienced its operating costs increase. This spring, employee wages increased due to increases in the legal wage floor and an rise in employer national insurance contributions.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 explain they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they order in a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Depending on your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are similar, notes a culinary author.

While Pizza Hut provides takeaway and deliveries through third-party apps, it is losing out to big rivals which specialize to this market.

“The rival chain has succeeded in leading the delivery market thanks to aggressive marketing and ongoing discounts that make consumers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are relatively expensive,” explains the expert.

But for the couple it is acceptable to get their special meal sent directly.

“We absolutely dine at home now rather than we eat out,” says one of the diners, reflecting current figures that show a decrease in people frequenting casual and fast-food restaurants.

Over the summer, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a 6% drop in patrons compared to last summer.

There is also a further alternative to pizza from eateries: the supermarket pizza.

Will Hawkley, head of leisure and hospitality at a leading firm, notes that not only have supermarkets been offering good-standard oven-ready pizzas for quite a while – some are even offering home-pizza ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also playing a factor in the popularity of casual eateries,” says Mr. Hawkley.

The increased interest of low-carb regimens has boosted sales at poultry outlets, while hitting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he continues.

As people dine out less frequently, they may seek out a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more retro than premium.

The “explosion of high-quality pizzerias” over the last decade and a half, for example boutique chains, has “dramatically shifted the public's perception of what quality pizza is,” says the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a few choice toppings, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's caused Pizza Hut's struggles,” she comments.

“Why would anyone spend nearly eighteen pounds on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a chain when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a small business based in a regional area comments: “The issue isn’t 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 faced challenges because it was unable to evolve with changing preferences.

According to an independent chain in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the pizza market is expanding but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“There are now slice concepts, regional varieties, new haven, sourdough, traditional Italian, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza enthusiast to try.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as the youth don't have any fond memories or attachment to the company.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's share has been divided and distributed to its trendier, more nimble rivals. To sustain its costly operations, it would have to raise prices – which experts say is challenging at a time when household budgets are shrinking.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's international markets said the buyout aimed “to protect our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

The executive stated its key goal was to maintain service at the remaining 64 restaurants and delivery sites and to help employees through the change.

Yet with significant funds going into operating its locations, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its delivery service because the sector is “complicated and working with existing external services comes at a expense”, commentators say.

Still, experts suggest, reducing expenses by withdrawing from oversaturated towns and city centres could be a good way to adapt.