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At one time, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for parents and children to feast on its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, endless salad selection, and self-serve ice-cream.

However fewer patrons are frequenting the brand currently, and it is reducing a significant portion of its UK locations after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes Prudence. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she says “it's not a thing anymore.”

According to 23-year-old Martina, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been famous for since it launched in the UK in the mid-20th century are now less appealing.

“How they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it feels like they are lowering standards and have reduced quality... They're giving away so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Since ingredient expenses have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become quite costly to operate. Similarly, its locations, which are being cut from a large number to just over 60.

The chain, like many others, has also seen its expenses rise. This spring, staffing costs jumped due to rises in minimum wages and an higher rate of employer taxes.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they get delivery from a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Based on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are comparable, says a food expert.

While Pizza Hut has takeaway and deliveries through external services, it is losing out to larger chains which solely cater to this market.

“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and ongoing discounts that make shoppers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the standard rates are relatively expensive,” says the analyst.

Yet for these customers it is acceptable to get their special meal delivered to their door.

“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” explains the female customer, reflecting recent statistics that show a decrease in people going to casual and fast-food restaurants.

In the warmer season, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a 6% drop in customers compared to the year before.

There is also another rival to restaurant and takeaway pizzas: the frozen or fresh pizza.

An industry leader, global lead for leisure at an advisory group, notes that not only have grocery stores been selling good-standard prepared pies for quite a while – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also contributing in the popularity of fast-food chains,” comments the expert.

The rising popularity of high protein diets has boosted sales at grilled chicken brands, while reducing sales of carb-heavy pizza, he notes.

Since people go out to eat more rarely, they may look for a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with comfortable booths and traditional décor can feel more old-fashioned than premium.

The “explosion of premium pizza outlets” over the last 10 to 15 years, such as boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what good pizza is,” explains the food expert.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a select ingredients, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's decline,” she says.

“What person would spend a high price on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a chain when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared classic pizza for less than ten pounds at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a small business based in a county in England explains: “It's not that fallen out of love with pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

The owner says his flexible operation can offer gourmet pizza at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with evolving tastes.

According to a small pizza brand in a UK location, the founder says the sector is diversifying but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything innovative.

“You now have individual slices, London pizza, thin crust, sourdough, traditional Italian, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pizza-loving consumer to explore.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as newer generations don't have any emotional connection or loyalty to the chain.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been sliced up and spread to its trendier, more nimble competitors. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to charge more – which commentators say is difficult at a time when family finances are decreasing.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to protect our guest experience and protect jobs where possible”.

It was explained its key goal was to continue operating at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to support colleagues through the restructure.

Yet with large sums going into maintaining its outlets, it likely can't afford to allocate significant resources in its off-premise division because the sector is “complex and partnering with existing third-party platforms comes at a cost”, experts say.

Still, experts suggest, reducing expenses by leaving oversaturated towns and city centres could be a smart move to evolve.