ILLINOIS (WAND) - Multiple Pizza Hut restaurants in central Illinois are closing due to restructuring at the corporate level.
A spokesperson for the largest Pizza Hut franchisee, NPC International, told WAND-TV the company made a "very difficult" decision to close stores in Lincoln, Taylorville, Paris and Effingham. WAND-TV News has learned locations in Forsyth, Jacksonville and Charleston have also closed permanently.
NPC had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early July. As part of a deal reached with Pizza Hut owner Yum! Brands, a total of 300 Pizza Hut locations across the U.S. are closing, according to CNBC.
NPC is putting its last 927 Pizza Hut stores up for sale. Its total of 1,227 Pizza Hut restaurants is about 20 percent of the Pizza Hut footprint in the United States.
“In the event NPC executes a sale of its Pizza Hut business, Pizza Hut’s focus would be to ensure that new ownership brings to NPC’s Pizza Hut restaurants a strong capital structure, healthy balance sheet, commitment to operational excellence, and a growth mindset,” a spokesperson for Pizza Hut said in a statement to CNBC.
