Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
We somehow missed this one entirely, but the chain opened an outpost in mid-December at 134 Delancey St. between Norfolk and Suffolk. And yes ... it's that Pizza Hut.
If you grew up in the era of the classic dine-in Hut, you already know the vibe we're talking about: the giant red nubby cups, the checkered tablecloths, and those fake stained-glass chandeliers that made every booth feel like you were having a special occasion dinner... even if it was just a personal pan pizza and a stack of quarters for Ms. Pacman.
This is not that.
This is a very 2025-era, order-at-the-window version ... complete with bullet-proof glass between you and your nostalgia.
Still, it's kind of wild (and weirdly comforting?) to see that familiar name back in the neighborhood mix.
Anyway, if you've been craving a little throwback… or just want to see what Pizza Hut looks like in its modern, no-frills form… now you know.
Of course, you might recall the Pizza Hut-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's combo that closed on the NW corner of Second Avenue and 14th Street in 2010.
What's up with the bullet proof glass there?
ReplyDeleteBullet proof glass??? Corporate thinks it's still the 80s
ReplyDeleteHave you walked lately on Delancey between Norfolk and Suffolk?
DeleteI disagree that the launch of a LES Pizza Hut (with a bullet-proof window, no less) might somehow be "weirdly comforting." Even if we might rate the Hut half-a-step above Dominos, Papa John's, et al., the point has been made before that flyover-country franchise pizza brands deserve no space in NYC, where we can get a decent NYC-style slice on most every block. Indeed, I might make the same point about the national junk-food-chain purveyors of hamburgers, chicken, burritos and everything else they sell: NYC teems with interesting smashburger places and affordable ethnic food stands and take-out joints. We NYC consumers have no excuse for ever patronizing a national-brand junk food chain here. (And don't lecture me on affordability; my point compares chain fare to low-cost NYC mom-'n'-pops & delis, not hipster spots and starred chefs.)
ReplyDeleteIt's for the homesick transplants
DeleteActually a LOT of places Out-Pizza The Hut in NYC. But it could be fun for a trip down Memory Lane once in a Blue Moon.
ReplyDeleteSad when society has come to this.
ReplyDeleteSad is 10 people dying due to a snow storm. This is just a store with some pizza for sale.
ReplyDeleteThey probably died due the freezing temperatures, not because of the snow. At least 6 of them died before the storm.
Delete"Oddly comforting?" Actually not so oddly discomforting given that it is so hard for small and actually good local places to afford the rent. On top of that there is the competition from the seriously mediocre and over priced home delivery corporate kitchens with the never ending discount coupons like Wonder on 9th street that take away so much local take out business.
ReplyDeleteWith so many terrific pizza options in the 'hood, who would opt for prefab, flyover pizza well past its heyday, shoved through a security portal in what looks like an embattled liquor store on Ave D.
ReplyDeleteThere's another one opposite AMC on 2nd ave in Kips Bay
ReplyDelete