Pizza Hut to Closebr 500 Dine-in Locations.br Yum! Brands president David W. Gibbs madebr the announcement during an earnings call tobr discuss second-quarter results on August 1.br According to Gibbs, the chain will focusbr on its delivery and carryout options.br We are leaning in to accelerate the transition ofbr our Pizza Hut U.S. asset base to truly modernbr deliverycarryout assets…This will ultimatelybr strengthen the Pizza Hut business in the U.S.br and set it up for a faster long-term growth, David W. Gibbs, via ‘Food Business News’.br In the United States, there are approximatelybr 6,100 dine-in restaurants and 1,350 express units. .br The number of total U.S. stores is expectedbr to drop to as low as 7,000 in the next 24 months.br “Underperforming” dine-ins with “lower volume”br are the most likely to face closure and later bebr restructured to fit the deliverycarryout model.br It’s hard to estimate how soon the timingbr of when a store will close and then whenbr the replaced unit will open…There will bebr gaps on some of those, but certainly, ourbr goal is to try to minimize those gaps, David W. Gibbs, via ‘Food Business News’.