The city of Oswego now carries one less pizza shop, after Pizza Hut closed its doors for good on Monday.
Company officials announced on Friday, Feb. 6, that the restaurant located at 303 West Seneca St. would be closing in just four short days from the announcement via press release.
National pizza chains, such as Domino’s and Little Caesars, are still running. Other local shops like Pizza Villa, Bridge Street Pizza and The Pie Guys are also open.
After 42 years in business, District Manager Randy Kline said in the press release the “growth in sales has not kept pace with the growth in expenses” in recent years, not providing “for a sustainable business.”
“We are proud to have been a part of the Oswego community as your home town Pizza Hut,” the press release said. “There have been many memories created here.”
The closing of Oswego’s Pizza Hut is also part of a mass shutdown of up to 500 locations of the pizza chain around the nation, which the company announced in August 2019. Other local Pizza Huts in DeWitt, Nedrow and Chittenango were all closed before the announcement in May 2018.
The Fulton Pizza Hut, which has the same operator as the Oswego location, DeLand Corporation, is staying open. A DeLand spokesperson told The Palladium-Times that the company is planning on selling the property just off of Highway 104.
“All team members at the Oswego location have been offered the opportunity to transfer to the Fulton location,” Kline said. “If you get a craving for that great Pizza Hut pizza, we’d love to see you at our Fulton location.”
After being reached by phone, a manager at the Fulton location said she was not at liberty to talk about the situation.
One former Oswego employee, Jorge Rivera, chose to find new work instead of transferring to Fulton. He said that some Oswego employees had transferred. He also mentioned that he thought the location was “doing better and getting better” in terms of revenue.
“Some [employees] were frustrated, others were depressed,” Rivera said. “I was more optimistic.”
Other employees also mentioned that they were told on short notice that the store was closing. Rivera added that he found out through Facebook on Feb. 5, just a day before the press release. Another employee said he found on that same day, after some friends had asked him if Pizza Hut was closing. This is the second or third restaurant to be pulled from the Oswego area in recent years, as well. Tim Horton’s was pulled in 2015, while most recently, Friendly’s in April of last year. Oswego Common Council Vice President Kevin Kill told The Palladium-Times last Friday that the location where Pizza Hut was located could be an ideal location for another business.
“…This unfortunate situation underscores the importance of supporting the local, independent businesses within our community,” Hill said.
As expected after 42 years, there have been some loyal customers since Oswego’s Pizza Hut opened its doors in 1977. Rivera said there were a lot of customers who did not want the location to close.
“I had people come in who were there from the day it opened in 1977 who came in every Friday,” Rivera said. “A lot [of others] were disappointed.”
Photo by Ben Grieco | The Oswegonian
