The Pizza Huts from your childhood are making a comeback. Here's why nostalgia sells
It was once a sacred place, ushering you inside with its signature red roof and comforting smell of bubbling cheese in a special era now known lovingly as "the '90s."
In its prime, Pizza Hut wasn't just a restaurant chain — it was an experience. The stained glass lamps, red booths and red cups. The fully loaded salad bar. The Pac-Man machines to keep you entertained while you waited for your personal-pan pizza.
"It was perfect," says one of many TikTok videos of the experience.
"Felt like home," someone commented on another nostalgic video.
Now, one of the largest franchisees in the U.S. is bringing Pizza Hut back to its retro glory days by revamping dozens of its locations, part of a larger overall push toward classic Pizza Huts.
Pizza Hut's sales have been falling in the crowded pizza market, but the change, evidently, is popular. The "classic" locations owned by Daland Corporation are some of the chain's top performers, with customers reportedly driving hours just to sit down and eat.
They've "been very positively received in the communities where we’ve converted them," said Tim Sparks, president of the Kansas-based franchisee, which oversees 94 Pizza Hut locations across the U.S., though none in Canada.
Of those, Sparks has converted 38 into retro Pizza Huts since 2019, and plans to convert 12 more.
"These restaurants were built around dining-room experiences — families gathering after events, sports teams celebrating, kids enjoying arcade games like Pac-Man and even waiting for songs on the jukebox," he told CBC News.
"It is a very different experience from simply picking up or having a pizza delivered."
Until recently, "classic" Pizza Hut locations were elusive, not listed on the Pizza Hut website, but widely sought after and celebrated by those who made the pilgrimage.
People shared their finds on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok and Substack, where they described driving hours out of their way for an experience that was, "in every way, so worth it."
According to the New York Times, the first classic remodel was in 2019 in Ashdown, Ark., and only certain models in certain markets are eligible for the '90s decor. Pizza Hut provides franchisees — like Daland Corporation — with a specific guidebook, the Times reports.
Now, the company appears to be leaning into the nostalgia.
Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell told NBC's Today on Tuesday customers should expect "a real focus" on the classic experience, which was followed a day later by parent company Yum Brands advertising some 155 "retro" Pizza Huts across the U.S.
That number include the 38 Daland Corporation locations, Sparks confirmed.
CBC News has reached out to both Pizza Hut and Yum Brands for details, including whether Canada has any classic locations, but has not yet heard back
On social media, however, rumours exist of a smattering of classic locations across the country. And CBC News is aware of at least one Pizza Hut location in London, Ont., with a lunch buffet. It's unclear whether these locations never changed or changed back.
Nostalgia is everywhereThis craving for the good ol' days doesn't end with pizza. The past is present everywhere, from food to movies. And brands are seemingly buying in.
Last fall, McDonald's relaunched its Monopoly game after a decade-long hiatus, acknowledging in its news release that playing it is a "core memory" for many of its customers.
Last September, Tim Hortons brought back its retro coffee cups for National Coffee Day, describing it as "a trip down memory lane." This was after the company brought back two retro doughnuts for a limited time: the Walnut Crunch and the Dutchie.
Meanwhile, landlines are trending as more people seek ways to put down their smartphones. We've also seen a return to older forms of media, like DVDs, vinyl records and film cameras.
Clothing company J. Crew recently relaunched its traditional catalogue. Zellers might be returning (again). The Barbie movie was a global blockbuster and Lego's nostalgia factor has helped make it one of the most identifiable brands in the world as it smashes sales records.
Marketing experts agree that nostalgia sells when people feel insecure, unsettled or anxious. You know, like in times of soaring gas prices, countries invading other countries, worrying about whether AI will take our jobs or whether another global pandemic is coming.
"We want to go back to the warmer, more secure memories of childhood when everything seemed simple and safe," said Grant Packard, an associate professor of marketing at York University in Toronto.
At the same time that we're being constantly exposed to negative information about the present, we also tend to remember the past in a biased, more positive way, says Matthew Philp, an associate professor of marketing at Toronto Metropolitan University.
"Nostalgia is then a warm safety blanket," he said.
In a time when restaurants are struggling and casual dining has become more functional than anything else, it can be hard for new restaurants to build an emotional attachment with customers, said Philp.
That's where Pizza Hut's long history gives it an advantage newer restaurants don't have.
"People remember having birthday parties there, or family dinners, and they will remember the red roof and the booths and the salad bar and whatever. These can all be strong emotional cues that are much harder for a new brand to create," Philp said.
The strategy of "going out" for pizza is particularly interesting since pizza was the first restaurant category to go almost entirely delivery, added Packard.
And since the pandemic, delivery has become more common, he says, citing the rise of services like Uber Eats and Door Dash. So for a pizza place to make dine-in work would be interesting.
Packard says he could see the classic restaurants appealling to people who came of age in the '90s and have fond Pizza Hut memories.
"Today, Gen X and Y have kids of their own and that experience may feel fun to share with them," he said.
"It could give the family a reason to go out for pizza again."
cbc.ca
