By Clark 
In 2024, Pizza Hut debuted new restaurants in several markets across the nation, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, delivering its famous stuffed crust and pan-style pizzas to even more regions. The sudden closure of nineteen stores in two states, however, has also reduced the chain’s influence in recent times.
Four of the recently closed Pizza Huts were located in Ohio’s central region, while fifteen were in Indiana’s northwest. The cause for the closures in Ohio has not been announced by the firm, but the closures in Indiana are connected to a continuing legal dispute between Pizza Hut and one of its franchisees.
In all, EYM Group owns fifteen of the shuttered Indiana shops, and also franchises 142 Pizza Huts in Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and South Carolina. Several parties have claimed that EYM Group has failed to pay Pizza Hut millions of dollars that are promised to them.
According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, the franchisee has been considering selling their Pizza Hut outlets. They cite a number of issues, including increasing expenses and the chain’s lack of innovation, as reasons for the business’s struggles.
While EYM Group attempted to settle its debts and obligations, it was able to maintain its franchise relationship with Pizza Hut because to a forbearance arrangement that the franchisor and franchisee reached in 2023. However, Pizza Hut proceeded to send out default notifications until February of this year, when the forbearance arrangement was finally cancelled.
After EYM Group sued Pizza Hut in March for alleged contract breach, Pizza Hut later sued the franchisee in June for breach of contract. The closures of the EYM Group were first reported by The Times of Northwest Indiana. In mid-June, a number of local Pizza Hut employees took to social media to announce that their stores had suddenly shut down and laid off all of its staff.
Although there have been a few temporary closures of EYM franchised restaurants in Indiana, Pizza Hut is still dedicated to satisfying our customers with first-rate service and delicious pizza.
Many of these locations should reopen soon as the corporation works to transfer them. The franchisee’s other locations outside of the Indiana market are still operational. It said that you could visit https://locations.pizzahut.com to see which Pizza Hut was closest to you.
This Indiana Pizza Hut closed its doors in the following cities: Portage, Chesterton, Valparaiso, Hobart, Winfield, Crown Point, Schererville, Griffith, Hammond, Merrillville, LaPorte, Michigan City, Lowell, Cedar Lake, and Munster. Hundreds of Pizza Hut restaurants remain open in Ohio and Indiana despite the closures.