A string of more than a dozen Pizza Hut restaurants in Indiana suddenly closed up shop earlier in the month.
The 15 restaurants were located across northwestern Indiana and run by franchisee EYM Group, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported late last week.
Their reported closures come as EYM Group and Pizza Hut have been engaged in legal action against each other. Both parties have lodged claims of contract breaches.
In a June 7 lawsuit, Pizza Hut alleged EYM Group had breached its franchise agreement and a subsequent forbearance agreement that they reached in 2023.
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The pizza chain alleged that EYM had a "history of late paying fees owed to Pizza Hut and other interested entities pursuant to the Franchise Agreements" and that it defaulted on them in several instances, according to the suit.
EYM Group, which has been working to offload its Pizza Hut restaurants for quite some time, earlier claimed Pizza Hut had not lived up to its own contract obligations.
Some of its claims included that Pizza Hut had purportedly "failed to adapt to modern business practices" and to "keep up with new technology," things that it argued negatively impacted EYM and its financial situation. It said inflation and COVID exacerbated things.
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Dozens of other Pizza Hut locations also run by EYM Group could also potentially see their operations halted, according to the Daily Mail.
"While a few EYM franchise-operated restaurants in Indiana have temporarily closed, Pizza Hut remains committed to providing outstanding service and products to our valued customers," a Pizza Hut spokesperson told FOX Business. "The company is working to transition these locations and expects many of them will reopen soon. Other restaurants operated by the franchisee outside the Indiana market remain open."
EYM also has Pizza Hut restaurants in Georgia, Wisconsin and a few other states.
It also does franchising for other fast-food brands. Those include Denny’s, KFC and Panera Bread, according to its website.
Yum! Brands said in its most recent quarter earnings that at the end of March, more than 99% of Pizza Hut locations were franchisee-run, according to the company.
