The struggling operator of numerous Pizza Hut and Wendy’s restaurants, NPC International, missed an interest payment in January of this year, leading to stock downgrades for the publicly-traded company — and now even a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
NPC is the operator of about 1,200 Pizza Hut locations, as well as nearly 400 Wendy’s restaurants in the United States. Some say it has been a perfect storm for the franchisee, including COVID-related shutdowns, massive corporate debt of nearly $1 billion, as well as rising food costs. While several news outlets are stating up to 300 Pizza Hut locations are set to close across the nation, as part of an agreement reached between Pizza Hut and NPC, the local locations are said to be safe for now.
Area General Manager at NPC International and fellow Lintonian, Wes Landis, took to Facebook earlier today and assured friends, “This will not affect our local stores at all. My district is ran by some great leaders and great operations.” Landis has worked for NPC for over 24 years.
The Linton Pizza Hut location has been a fixture in the Linton community for a number of years, starting in the Linton Shopping Center until building its current location on the east side of town just outside the city limits at 9610 West State Road 54.