National Restaurant Chain With Many Connecticut Eateries Closing Hundreds Of Locations

CONNECTICUT — A national restaurant chain with a prominent Connecticut presence is planning to shutter 250 eateries this year.

Pizza Hut is closing what it terms "underperforming locations" across the country in the first half of this year. The announcement came from Pizza Hut's parent company, Yum! Brands in a Feb. 4 earnings call.

Yum! Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy said that the move was part of “Hut Forward,” a strategy that includes “vibrant marketing, modernization of technology, and franchise agreements.”

"The 250 stores that we mentioned is a very small portion of the 20,000-unit estate that Pizza Hut has globally," Roy said during the earnings call. "And it is the right answer for the brand as we move through the strategic review."

Yum! did not announce which specific Pizza Hut locations will be closing. According to the Pizza Hut website, the chain operates 14 locations in Connecticut.

Locations, according to the company's website, include:

• Ansonia (1)
• Berlin (1)
• Branford (1)
• Dayville (1)
• Manchester (2)
• Milford (2)
• North Haven (2)
• Plainville (1)
• Southington (1)
• Trumbull (1)
• West Hartford (1)

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According to Restaurant Dive, of the 19,872 Pizza Hut locations globally, about 6,300 are located in the United States.

Yum! also operates the KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill chains.

with Patch editor Eric Heyl