Auburn’s longtime Pizza Hut on Grant Avenue served its last customers Friday, ending decades of business at a location that generations of residents remember for family dinners, school outings and late-night pizza runs.
The restaurant, located in the former Pizza Hut building often referred to by locals as the location “down under,” closed permanently as the franchise prepares to move operations to a newly constructed restaurant farther up Grant Avenue. The new Pizza Hut, operated by Tasty Hut, is expected to open in early June.
According to information shared by Weedsport Community News, the transition required the existing restaurant to stop ordering additional supplies as it wound down operations. Because the new building has not yet completed its health department inspection process, food and equipment could not simply be transferred between locations.
By Friday evening, crews had already begun removing portions of the exterior at the old restaurant. The closure also marked the end of several familiar features inside the building, including a longtime waiting bench and a scaled-back version of the restaurant’s salad bar that remained in operation until the final day.
While the closing represents the end of an era for one of Auburn’s most recognizable restaurant locations, the new restaurant is expected to reopen the brand in the city after inspections, equipment checks, staff training and final preparations are completed in the coming days.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.