Retro Pizza Hut locations see MASSIVE success as customers drive hours for 1980s nostalgia

The Pizza Hut locations redesigned to resemble the chain’s restaurants from the 1980s have become a hit with customers seeking a nostalgic experience, with some driving hours to visit.

In 2017, Pizza Hut launched its “Classic” initiative to test the return of the chain’s old-school appearance at select locations. The restaurants feature elements from the 1980s design, including Tiffany-style lamps and red checkerboard tablecloths.

Tim Sparks, president of Daland Corp, which operates 82 dine-in Pizza Hut locations, told Fox News that his company was one of the franchisees approached to participate in the initial test.

“They approached a few franchisees and said, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about doing this retro look. Do you guys want to participate in the test?’ So I jumped at that opportunity,” Sparks explained.

“We have a big responsibility,” he continued. “We always want to provide great service, and we always want to provide a great product. But when you get put under a spotlight like this, and people are coming from two or three hours away, you’ve got to deliver on that expectation.”

The first Classic Pizza Hut location opened in Georgia, but subsequent leadership changes at Pizza Hut shifted the company away from expanding the retro models. Daland was able to continue operating the concept and now has 39 Classic locations.

“We did eventually run into a problem where we actually bought all the Tiffany lights that we could find,” Sparks said. “The brand quit producing them for us because … there just wasn’t a big enough commitment from people to buy them.”

“Now, because of the attention, we have five different vendors bidding to build those lights for us again,” he added.

According to Fox 13 Tampa Bay, the Pizza Hut in Homosassa Springs, Florida, was converted into the Classic design, after which its dine-in sales more than doubled. In Pennsylvania, a Classic Pizza Hut in a town with a population of only about 1,700 people has attracted customers who travel more than an hour to visit the restaurant. 

The old-school design has appealed to customers who remember Pizza Hut from their childhood. The retro locations offer a sharp contrast to the more modern, minimalist design found at many restaurants today. 

However, Sparks said the nostalgia has also extended to young customers. 

“When we started to get a lot of traction with social media, these weren’t 50- and 60-year-olds coming in and doing TikToks, right? These were [people in their] teens and 20s coming in and doing them,” Sparks said. “I think it does take them back to a little clip of time and an era where, in their minds, things weren’t as hectic.”