"Classic" Pizza Hut is returning to Arizona
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Pizza Hut as we remember it from the 1980s and '90s, pictured in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2003. Photo: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
If you grew up eating at the old-school Pizza Hut restaurants with the red roofs and classic decor, get ready for a big dose of nostalgia.
The big picture: There's been a wave of conversions in recent years as owners have gone retro, transforming restaurants back to the "Pizza Hut Classic" version with checkered tablecloths, Tiffany lamps, red cups and other old-school features.
- 144 Pizza Huts have been converted into Classics since 2019 as part of a partnership between the company and its franchisees, the New York Times reported in March.
- And the trend is coming to Arizona soon, Axios has learned.
State of play: Emerge Inc., which owns nearly 30 Pizza Hut restaurants in the state, mostly in southern Arizona, plans to convert three of them to Classic locations, vice president of operations Rachel Robinson told Axios.
- The locations will be in Tucson, Willcox and Yuma.
- The company hasn't determined which Tucson and Yuma locations will be retro-ified, but it expects to complete the conversions within the next six weeks, Robinson said.
It's unclear if more Classic conversions are planned by other Pizza Hut owners in the Phoenix area or elsewhere in the state.
- We were unable to speak with Desert De Oro Foods, owner of many Valley Pizza Hut franchises, about it.
The intrigue: In recent days, there were several erroneous reports that Kansas-based Daland Corp. had acquired 80 Pizza Hut locations and planned to convert them to the Classic design.
- Daland Corp. president Tim Sparks told us that his company has 92 Pizza Hut restaurants in seven states, including 39 Classic locations.
- But the company hasn't acquired new locations, Sparks said.
What they're saying: Sparks said his Classic restaurants "do very well" and he hopes to see more conversions.
- "I think I got a lot of people's attention, so you probably will start to see these things pop up again," he said.
What we're watching: Pizza Hut is strict about the criteria for Classic locations, per Sparks — they must have the old, red-roofed exterior.
- Yum Brands is looking to sell Pizza Hut, and Sparks told Axios he's hoping to convince the next owners to relax the guidelines for Classic conversions.
- He wants the next owners to allow the vintage decor in any dine-in location, regardless of what the outside looks like.