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As part of a nostalgia-driven push, 155 Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide are being outfitted with throwback décor drawn from the 1980s and 1990s, according to parent company Yum Brands $YUM -0.48% — think checkered tablecloths, Tiffany-style lamps, salad bars, red cups, and arcade games.
Yum Brands cited robust consumer interest as the driver behind the expansion, noting in a release that existing retro locations have drawn visitors from well outside their immediate areas, with some customers making the trip across state lines.
The 155-location expansion builds on work already underway at Kansas-based franchisee Daland Corporation, which converted 38 of its 93 locations into retro-styled "Pizza Hut Classic" restaurants modeled after the chain's original dine-in format. Renovated Daland locations have been stocked with red vinyl booths, a returning salad bar, stained-glass pendant lighting, and plastic checkered tablecloths — hallmarks of the Pizza Hut dining room that had largely vanished in recent decades.
Tim Sparks, the president of Daland Corporation, has been leading the effort. "It's a good time to start having dinner together," Tim Sparks told Fox News. He said the reception to the renovations has been positive, with content from bloggers who visited the locations spreading across social media. "Everybody gets super excited," he told Fox News. "There's a lot of feel-good to it for sure."
