These 49 Pizza Hut locations silently closed nationwide

17 May 2026, 10:33 · The Fresno Bee

As more consumers forgo crusty, delicious pizza made from fresh dough and baked in special ovens, pizza chains are having a hard time surviving.

However, consumers are not to be blamed, as they also face heavy economic pressures. In fact, industry data show that many consumers are forced to trade down their typical dining-out options for more modest meals at home. A quarter of consumers say they eat more frozen pizza than restaurant pizza due to price increases, according to Baking Business.

More than two-thirds (68%) of U.S. consumers are cutting back on restaurant dining generally in 2026, prioritizing affordability and convenience, reveals Popmenu's 2026 report Restaurant Trends To Watch.

Consumers are spending $25 less per week on food away from home, according to Popmenu, while restaurants and pizza chains continue to deal with rising food, labor, and rent expenses. These trade-downs pressure restaurants, which operate with much lower profit margins, eventually leading to store closures or even bankruptcies.

In 2025, a staggering 42% of restaurant operators reported their businesses were not profitable, the National Restaurant Association notes. Pizza chains also seem to face the special challenge of a consumer protein-craze trend.

Major pizza chains are shrinking, such as Papa John's, which is closing 300 stores, according to Restaurant Dive. Others, such as MOD, Little Caesars, North County, CPK, and Crust, face bankruptcies or reorganizations.

Pizza Hut's closure of 250 restaurants wasn't surprising

In recent years, the second-largest pizza company in the world, Pizza Hut, joined the group of struggling pizza chains.

For the first quarter of the year, its global same-store sales remained flat, while international sales grew 2%, according to a Yum! Brands earnings release. On the other hand, Taco Bell's U.S. same-store sales grew 8% year over year in the same quarter, beating a 5.6% consensus.

In March 2026, Pizza Hut's same-store visits were down 0.4%, according to Placer.ai. The restaurant chain's struggles, however, started earlier.

Three months ago, during its Q4 earnings call, Yum! Brands confirmed the closure of 250 underperforming restaurant locations under its Hut Forward plan.

"In the first half, in the U.S., we expect approximately 250 targeted closures of underperforming units tied to the HUD forward program, which will result in a decline in global Pizza Hut units in the first half," the company's Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy said, according to a transcript shared by The Motley Fool.

When asked during the call if the number of closures could further grow, Roy neither confirmed nor denied, responding: "The 250 stores that we mentioned is a very small portion of the 20,000-unit estate that Pizza Hut has globally. And it is the right answer for the brand as we move through the strategic review."

The news about closures wasn't too surprising, since Yum! Brands previously reported in its third-quarter earnings call that Taco Bell and KFC account for about 90% of its operating profits. "They are the ones that drive the bulk of our growth, and they will continue on the trajectory that they're on now," Roy said, Insider Monkey noted.

"That essentially makes Pizza Hut a drag on Yum Brands that may not be worth management's time," TheStreet Co-Editor-in-Chief Daniel Kline suggested.

To address the numbers, the company started a strategic review of Pizza Hut, which could lead to a sale.

"The intent is for Pizza Hut to reach its full potential for the benefit of its franchisees, consumers, and employees, and to maximize value for Yum! shareholders. The review will explore a range of strategic options while Pizza Hut continues to focus on near-term business imperatives," the company shared in a press release.

With the Hut Forward initiative, Yum! Brands aims to refresh Pizza Hut's marketing strategy, enhance marketing, modernize certain technology and improve operational efficiency by also closing underperforming locations.

Pizza Hut has already closed at least 49 locations nationwide.

Photo by NurPhoto on Getty Images

Pizza Hut stores have been closing one by one

Yum! Brands has not publicly disclosed the locations scheduled for closure, but a company spokesperson recently confirmed to Fast Company that it is still on track to shutter about 250 locations.

Stores have been silently vanishing from towns and cities across the country, with the company making no announcements before or after the closures.

According to research by Fast Company, which includes Yelp and Google Reviews, as well as Pizza Hut's own store locator tool, the states most affected by the closures include California, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

In fact, the data suggest that nearly 50 U.S. Pizza Hut restaurants have closed over the last few months.

The pizza chain is still growing globally, however. In 2025, it added 1,184 locations across 65 countries. And of its 19,974 locations globally, 68% are outside the U.S., according to the company's 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

More than 99% of the stores in Yum's Pizza Hut Division are operated by franchisees.

Pizza Hut's 49 locations closed:

Arizona

6671 E. Baseline Rd. Studio # 121, Mesa, AZ 85206
420 E. Bell Rd. Ste. C101, Phoenix, AZ 85022

California

4558 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807
6911 Linda Vista Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
20377 Avalon Blvd., Carson, CA 90746
9118 Alondra Blvd., Bellflower, CA 90706
7253 Boulder Ave a-6, Highland, CA 92346
12003 Beach Blvd., Stanton, CA 90680
1758 S. Nogales St., Rowland Heights, CA 91748
19725 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda, CA 92886
112 N. Euclid St., Fullerton, CA 92832
11115 Crenshaw Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90303
366 N. Harbor Blvd., La Habra, CA 90631
11550 Whittier Blvd., Whittier, CA 90601
9111 Imperial Hwy., Downey, CA 90242
7779 Garvey Ave., Rosemead, CA 91770

Florida

1616 S. Dixie Fwy., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168

Iowa

1211 Silent Prairie Rd., Le Mars, IA 51031

Indiana

4264 N. Cypress Ln., Bloomington, IN 47404

Oklahoma

413 S. Green Ave., Purcell, OK 73080

Ohio

5840 Darrow Rd., Hudson, OH 44236
4118 OH-43, Kent, OH 44240
1715 OH-59, Kent, OH 44240
1208 Tiffin Ave., Findlay, OH 45840

Oregon

244 S. Main St., Dallas, OR 97338

Pennsylvania

900 N. Hanover St., Elizabethtown, PA 17022
145 Sheraton Dr., New Cumberland, PA 17070
101 Cavasina Dr., Canonsburg, PA 15317

Kansas

1001 E. 7th St., Galena, KS 66739
S 69 Hwy. Columbus, KS 66725

Kentucky

597 S L Rogers Wells Blvd., Glasgow, KY 42141
4507 N. Mayo Trail, Pikeville, KY 41501

Louisiana

1821 W. Pinhook Rd., Lafayette, LA 70508

Michigan

9728 Red Arrow Hwy., Bridgman, MI 49106

Missouri

9245 Gravois Rd., Affton, MO 63123

Minnesota

105 S. Oak Ave., Owatonna, MN 55060
1310 MN-15 #102, Hutchinson, MN 55350

Montana

401 Park Ave., Anaconda, MT 59711
800 N. Idaho St., Dillon, MT 59725

Nebraska

2662 Cornhusker Hwy. Ste 2B, Lincoln, NE 68521

North Carolina

960 W. Main St., Rockwell, NC 28138

Texas

1300 S. Cage Blvd. Suite 15, Pharr, TX 78577
2113 Andrews Hwy., Odessa, TX 79761

South Carolina

6432 Two Notch Rd Ste. S, Columbia, SC 29223

South Dakota

101 N. Splitrock Blvd., Brandon, SD 57005

Virginia

1001 Leatherwood Ln., Bluefield, VA 24605

Washington

304 S 1st St., Selah, WA 98942
421 Roosevelt Ave., Enumclaw, WA 98022
5160 Borgen Blvd. Suite B, Gig Harbor, WA 98332

West Virginia

218 Park Dr. Suite G, Weirton, WV 26062

Wisconsin

2727 S. Business Dr. #462, Sheboygan, WI 53081

Source: Fast Company

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 3:33 AM.