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Once, the popular pizza chain was the favorite for parents and children to indulge in its unlimited dining experience, endless salad selection, and self-serve ice-cream.

However a declining number of customers are visiting the chain these days, and it is closing a significant portion of its UK outlets after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes one London shopper. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” Today, as a young adult, she states “it's fallen out of favor.”

For 23-year-old Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been famous for since it started in the UK in the mid-20th century are now less appealing.

“How they do their buffet and their salad station, 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 can they?’”

Because food prices have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to operate. The same goes for its outlets, which are being sliced from a large number to 64.

The business, like many others, has also experienced its operating costs increase. Earlier this year, employee wages rose due to increases in the legal wage floor and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

Two diners say they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they get delivery from Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

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

Even though Pizza Hut has takeaway and deliveries through delivery platforms, it is losing out to big rivals which specialize to off-premise dining.

“The rival chain has taken over the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and ongoing discounts that make consumers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the base costs are on the higher side,” says the specialist.

However for these customers it is acceptable to get their date night delivered to their door.

“We predominantly have meals at home now instead of we eat out,” says the female customer, reflecting recent statistics that show a decline in people visiting informal dining spots.

In the warmer season, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a notable decrease in customers compared to the year before.

There is also one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, explains that not only have supermarkets been providing premium ready-to-bake pizzas for a long time – some are even promoting pizza-making appliances.

“Shifts in habits are also contributing in the popularity of fast-food chains,” says the analyst.

The growing trend of high protein diets has increased sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of carb-heavy pizza, he continues.

As people dine out more rarely, they may prefer a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's classic look with booth seating and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more dated than premium.

The “explosion of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, including popular brands, has “dramatically shifted the public's perception of what good pizza is,” notes the industry commentator.

“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 led to Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.

“Who would choose to spend a high price on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a franchise when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

An independent operator, who owns a small business based in a county in England comments: “It's not that stopped liking pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

He says his flexible operation can offer premium pizza at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it was unable to evolve with new customer habits.

According to an independent chain in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the industry is broadening but Pizza Hut has not provided anything new.

“Currently available are individual slices, artisanal styles, New Haven-style, fermented dough, wood-fired, rectangular – it's a wonderful array for a pie fan to explore.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as the youth don't have any fond memories or allegiance to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's market has been divided and distributed to its more modern, agile rivals. To keep up its costly operations, it would have to raise prices – which industry analysts say is difficult at a time when household budgets are shrinking.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to safeguard our customer service and protect jobs where possible”.

The executive stated its first focus was to continue operating at the remaining 64 restaurants and takeaway hubs and to help employees through the transition.

But with so much money going into maintaining its outlets, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its delivery service because the sector is “complex and using existing third-party platforms comes at a price”, commentators say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by leaving competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adapt.