Some 300 Pizza Hut Locations, Mostly Dine-In, Closing After Franchisee Bankruptcy
PLANO (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home.
Pizza sales have exploded during the coronavirus pandemic. Domino's last month reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits. On Monday, it said that it was hiring more than 20,000 people to handle surging orders.
One of the chain's biggest franchises -- NPC International -- filed for bankruptcy last month citing the coronavirus pandemic and debt of about a billion dollars.
NPC said in documents filed in bankruptcy court that it had come to an agreement with the Plano-based company to close hundreds of locations. The company filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
NPC owns 1,225 Pizza Huts and 385 Wendy's restaurants in 27 states. There are currently more than 6,500 Pizza Hut restaurants in the U.S.
In its filing, NPC said that closing stores not designed for pick-up or delivery will allow it to invest in smaller stores that can better handle online orders.
In May, Pizza Hut's U.S. carryout and delivery sales reached an eight-year high, according to Yum Brands Inc., the company that also owns KFC and Taco Bell.
But Pizza Hut's U.S. systemwide sales grew just 1% in the April-June period; rival Domino's Pizza, which has smaller, carryout-focused stores, posted a 20% jump in U.S. sales.
Yum Brands in a prepared statement said the stores being closed had underperformed others owned by NPC, and that shedding them would strengthen NPC's remaining portfolio.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
