The Reason Pizza Huts Are Disappearing Faster Than Their Slices

Pizza Hut has had great successes, and we're not just talking about their famous stuffed crust. Whether you're a fan or not, you can't deny the pizza chain has dominated the game of reliable fast eats for decades. Though, in recent years, you might have noticed a significant drop in the number of their red-and-white locations. So, what happened to all the Pizza Huts? There's a simple explanation, and, even better, there's a plan to bring them back.

Pizza Hut Heyday

If you were a child of the ‘90s and early 2000s, you grew up during the Pizza Hut surge. You could find one of their red-roofed fast-food franchises practically anywhere. Their commercials dominated all your favorite programming, but for kids, in particular, Pizza Hut had a major draw.

Book It! Program

Back in 1984, some marketing genius at Pizza Hut came up with the Book It! reading program, and the world was never the same. In a nutshell, it begged the question, what if we could get kids to read more by bribing them with the promise of free pizza? Naturally, that piqued kids' interests.

Reading For Pizza

Working in conjunction with elementary classrooms around the country, Pizza Hut offered free personal pan pizzas to kids who brought in their completed Reading Award Certificates. The more books you read, the more little one-topping pizzas you'd earn. It was an instant success.

Teacher And Parent Approved

Not only was the Book It! Program popular with kids, but teachers also liked the flexibility of setting their own reading goals for students. Parents loved the incentive that made their children more excited about reading. Most importantly, there was free pizza, the greatest thing in the world.