Pizza Hut to open on campus after year long vacancy – The Cougar

After a year with a vacant restaurant space in Student Center South, one of the University’s most high-traffic dining spaces, students can now look forward to Pizza Hut opening its doors in fall 2026.

The decision to bring Pizza Hut to campus was made through Chartwells, the UH’s dining services provider. Chartwells kept several factors in consideration such as pricing, menu variety and student feedback.

The space has been vacant since fall 2024 and previously housed McDonald’s. Since then, students have been waiting for updates. Now that Pizza Hut has been announced to take over this space some have voiced their displeasure on having to wait a year for the restaurant to officially open. 

However, this wait was necessary for the restaurant to operate correctly as it required renovations, said executive director of auxiliary services Deborah Huebler.

“The opening date of Fall 2026 is due to the design and construction timeline,” Huebler said. “The space needs to be re-designed and re-constructed to support menu offerings to meet national brand standards.” 

Many students also expressed their disappointment with the choice of the restaurant and feel UH could’ve chosen a better option.

“I would prefer a Burger King or McDonald’s. Now that the sandwich shop is closed, the only food options available at the student center are Chick-fil-A and Panda Express,” commented a Reddit user on a post made on UH subreddit. “I really question what Auxiliary Services is doing, as their food offerings are extremely lacking, especially during the summer months.”

The restaurant will feature a custom menu designed specifically for campus dining needs. The menu will include personal pan pizzas, pasta bakes, wings, breadsticks and bread bites. 

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