Pizza Hut Closing 250 Restaurants: 2 Southeast Minnesota Locations Confirmed

Americans eat an estimated 3 billion pizzas each year, but before 1958, pizza was a foreign concept to much of the United States. Dan and Frank Carney opened their first Pizza Hut in the late 50s, and rapidly expanded, making pizza a mainstream food from coast to coast.

This restaurant chain played a big part in many of our childhoods. I vividly remember the stained-glass chandeliers hanging above each booth, the red plastic cups, and the pride of earning a Personal Pan Pizza through the Book-It program.

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The Best Pizza In Minnesota: 

There are dozens of pizza chains, but if you want the best pie in Minnesota, head to the Twin Cities. Pizzeria Lola is consistently recognized for quality, and Food & Wine highlighted it for having the best pizza in Minnesota. The Food Network chose Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza as the best pizza in the state.

ALSO READ: GUY FIERI'S FAVORITE PIZZA IN MINNESOTA

At Least 2 SE Minnesota Pizza Huts Among Hundreds Closing Nationwide

Earlier this year, Yum Brands announced that 250 underperforming Pizza Hut locations would be closing. The company currently operates more than 6,000 restaurants in the United States, including roughly 90 in Minnesota.

While the full list of closures hasn't been released, the impact is already being felt in Minnesota:

The Winona Daily News has confirmed the Pizza Hut in Winona, located at 1630 West Service Drive, will be closing on March 2nd. And, earlier this month, the Pizza Hut on Oak Avenue in Owatonna shut its doors for good.