"The Fascinating Afterlives of Defunct Pizza Hut Buildings" Topic

"There are more than 11,000 Pizza Hut locations in 94 countries around the world. That's a whole lot of cheap pizza, often handed to you over a counter in a food court, airport, or other nondescript, soulless location. But there was a time when Pizza Hut was a restaurant, with chairs that weren't bolted down, cold beer on tap, and buildings with a distinctive red roof.

Oh sure, there are still some of those to be found, and the company has experimented with an "upscale bistro" motiff. But they are the exception for a chain that long ago embraced delivery and "express" locations. That got photographer Ho Hai Tran and creative director Chloe Cahill wondering what ever happened to all those red-roofed buildings with their old-school white signs.

"As a child growing up in New Zealand during the ‘90s, the local Pizza Hut was a place of wonder. A world of red-checked tablecloths, pizza by the slice and an endless supply of soft serve. When I was eight, the ‘Book It' program offered me a clear path to all of the pizza, garlic bread and jelly cubes my heart desired," Tran writes in the Kickstarter for a book version of a project he's called Pizza Hunt.

The first Pizza Hut, opened in 1958 by two students at Wichita State University, looked more than a bit like a hut. It was a squat, brick building with a white sign and the words "Pizza Hut" in a black san-serif font. The chain was a family-style fast-casual joint, and the iconic buildings—with their trapezoidal windows and red shingled roofs—designed by Richard D. Burke were quite common by the 1970s. But the "red roof" locations (which is something of a misnomer, because many of them are brown) started falling by the wayside in the 1980s, replaced by smaller, more modern locations that may look cool (by fast food standards) but are largely devoid of personality.

"Not all architecture, even award-winning architecture, has the ability to elicit the kind of positive, nostalgic response that these huts do," Cahill says…"
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I have good memories of Pizza Hut… on USA and on my country… why they broke down?

Amicalement
Armand

I don't think they've cut back on the number of locations, Armand. They've simply changed the type of location. I'll use my local Pizza Hut as an example. I live in Neenah, WI. Until a year ago our Pizza Hut was a classic version. Full dining room, lunch buffet, traditional building. They started having issues when the wing street wings came out. They weren't designed to have a deep fryer. So, they could no longer offer a full menu.

About the same time, a spot opened up in a mini mall a couple of blocks away. Within months, the old location was closed and the new Pizza Hut express, with no dining area, no beer, but a full wing menu opened. It's still a Pizza Hut in the same location, but it's a different kind of place. At this point Dominoes has the largest dine in area of any of our pizza places.

It's been that way in the states for a while now. I worked for Papa Johns from 1997-2000 in the same city. We have 4 tables in our lobby. Other than people with walk in orders that opted to wait for them, I never saw more than 2 tables in use. People just don't eat pizza out. They get it specifically to take home.

In my region, they're virtually non-existent, except for the very small, walk-in, takeout shops, with no seating. They deliver too.

Quality is okay, but in my area there are better, and worse, pizza chains, which I suspect is why they're so rare now.

I do occasionally get a desire for that thin, cracker-like crust though, from time to time. Of course, it's so thin, I could eat a whole large pizza, so it's not the most economical alternative.

Kinda reminds me of all the old Circuit City buildings left around town.

We've got an old Pizza Hut sitting on the next main street south of us over towards Plainfield.
I was able to eat there only once in the last 10 years, and about two weeks after I did, I drove by it and it was closed.
It's been empty ever since.

This seems depressing. Yet I go to a restaurant that serves a more general menu that includes really great pizza. I go there most weeks with a good sized group after gaming. Plenty of choices. Pizza is a good one, though.

when i was a child i remenber, being Italian, that was horrified at my first try, abroad, with a pizza called "Carni"..in which they dare to put on some mixed meat plus pinneaple slices..and worts than that..my French and UK friends dare to say it was the best pizza they ever eated..of course being also gemimini i did'nt argue with them and supported this absurd statement in order to be nice with the blone non Italian girl which was among our table of pizza's experts….but it was an amusing atmosphere

Pizza Hut, only thing to do with pizza is the name. One good thing about living in New Jersey is having GOOD pizza around, when I lived in MN there was only one good place in the entire state – one place cut a round pizza into squares???

This one became a sit-down pizza restaurant. Go figure. Good pizza, nice tables, great people running it.

Ah!…Dominoes pizza… I remember it too!. (smile)

Well, here they HAVE to died after the "novelty" of their tiny dough and ingredients … here we have one of the best (if not the best) pizza in the world with good leaky mozzarella and tomatoes and other ingredients. Besides … the secret is that the mixture has "chimichurri" (smile)

Good memories.

Amicalement
Armand

Chimichurri..great!!!…this summer for the first time in my life i tasted a cordero asado..with chimichurri…i really apreciated it very good!!!!..but.as you're certainly a viveur Tango..you would probably agree with me that..with all that garlic…how can you kiss a woman before a week elapsing?

The way around that is that you both eat garlic… ;-)

Yea, Domino's is/was, essentially flavored cardboard.

Haven't tried it since the menu change, but they do have lots of stores.

Not many near me though, since the competition is better, I suspect.

The kids and I ate at our local Pizza Hut tonight. Even saw our Parish Priest eating. It was a big crowd, and really the pizza isn't that bad…all things considered…

Zephyr1 is totally right!! (smile)

That's the secret with garlic and onions!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

I have good memories of Pizza Hut

you amaze me, mi amigo. You come from a city with that temple of pizza: Los Inmortales!

Everybody should build a small one to use as a terrain feature in their games. ;-)