Pizza Hut in Columbus closes doors, opens carryout store nearby

The Pizza Hut at 1702 Manchester Expressway has quietly closed its doors, leaving only on location in Columbus for those wishing to dine in.

The remaining sit-down restaurant in the market is now on U.S. Highway 280 in Phenix City. Pizza Hut’s website still lists the Buena Vista Road location in Columbus as dine-in, but an employee there said it now is only carryout and delivery.

The area around Manchester Expressway is still covered by the nation’s large chain, however, with Pizza Hut also opening a carryout and delivery store at 1056 Manchester Expressway, less than a mile west of its old location. That’s in Daniel Plaza, which is part of the Walmart Neighborhood Market that opened last year adjacent to Columbus Technical College.

The local changes come with reports Thursday that Pizza Hut is planning to open more stores across the U.S., while also hiring as many as 11,000 workers heading into the Super Bowl on Feb. 5. The pizza industry is highly competitive, with Pizza Hut competitors Papa John’s, Domino’s and Little Caesars each working constantly to take a bite out of each other’s business locally and nationally.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Pizza Hut in Columbus closes doors, opens carryout store nearby."