The decline in the pizza restaurant sector continues through 2026 with major dining chains closing hundreds of locations, making it more difficult for consumers to find their favorite food.
Pizza restaurants have faced serious economic headwinds over the past two years, as many chains faced stiff competition, rising labor and food costs, and high lease rates that required many companies to file for out-of-court restructuring, closing locations, and, in some cases, bankruptcy.
Seattle-based Mode Pizza operated about 500 locations in 2024, but financial challenges forced it to close 27 units and sell its assets to Chatsworth, Calif.-based Elite Restaurant Group.
The restaurant chain has not resolved its financial problems and continues to close locations, as its website lists 448 units as of February 4.
Other smaller pizza chains filed for bankruptcy in 2025, including Bertucci’s Restaurants, which filed for Chapter 11 protection on April 24, 2025, and Backdraughts, which filed on July 23, 2025.
Major pizza restaurant franchises also experienced financial difficulties last year, and Domino’s operator People First Pizza Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 on March 26, 2025, and Little Caesars franchisee Red Door Pizza LLC, which filed its petition on July 15, 2025, filed for bankruptcy protection.
Domino’s holds the title of the largest pizza chain in the U.S. with about 7,090 units through the third quarter of 2025, according to “Domino’s 101: Fun Facts” on the company’s website.
Little Caesars claims to be the third largest pizza chain in the U.S., but does not list its total locations. According to Location Cloud, the chain appears to have more than 4,200 locations in the US.
Pizza Hut claims to operate more than 6,700 locations in the U.S., according to its website, but the chain is shrinking quickly.
Giant pizza dining chain Pizza Hut said it will close 250 underperforming restaurant locations as part of its Hot Forward plan in the first half of 2026, after reporting a 1% decline in same-store sales globally in the fourth quarter and for the year 2025, parent Yum! Ranjit Roy, the brand’s chief financial officer, said on the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call on February 4.
The company, however, reported a 1% increase in same-store sales for Pizza Hut International, with strength in the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.
The Hot Forward program includes a vibrant marketing program, including one-time Yum! Marketing support contribution, certain technology modernization and franchise agreements, and targeted closure of underperforming units, Roy said in the earnings call.
