Pizza Hut Closing 250 Locations—Missouri Locations Unclear

A legendary pizza brand appears ready to scale back operations. The parent company of Pizza Hut has announced they will soon close up to 250 restaurants, but the number of Missouri locations is unclear at this time.

It all started with an earnings release from Yum brands which said that profits fell by 3% in the 4th quarter of 2025 and was down 5% over the span of the entire year. Their response is to start closing locations which Restaurant Dive said will amount to at least 250 restaurants. This follows an aggressive new marketing campaign where the brand enlisted Tom Brady as part of their "Hut Forward" reimaging.

How many Missouri locations will close?

According to the official Pizza Hut locations map, I counted around 126 restaurants still open in Missouri. The number of Missouri Pizza Huts that will be affected by this shutdown has not been announced by Yum brands at this time. The report says that consistently underperforming restaurants are the locations that will be most likely to be shut down.

While I have yet to meet a pizza I didn't like, Pizza Hut is one of those brands that goes back to my childhood. When I was in high school in Missouri, our football team members would walk over to the neighborhood Pizza Hut before home games. I sure do miss those huge red glasses and the buffets they used to have. Let's hope the incoming Pizza Hut closures will not impact many Missouri restaurants. We should learn soon which ones (if any) will be closed.