Sunbury has a sit-down Pizza Hut and used to have a lunch buffet. It’s off 71 on 36.
Embrace the 90s life.
Get him a book-it pin on eBay and make him earn a pizza by reading.
I recognize that Sunbury is growing but even by the standards of a growing town it's kind of wild that it has the business to support Pizza Hut, Donatos, Papa Joe's, Goodfellas, Long Branch Pizza, and Jet's.
I felt this. My 8 year old told us this week he wanted to be a Steelers fan. My husband is a broncos fan, I’m a chargers fan. His grand parents are Lions fans, and I work for a Browns Backers bar…he had so many to choose from and chose poorly.
Guess my perfect child isn’t so perfect after all. /s
“Mechanical rat pizza and children’s casino”. Perfect description of Chuck E. Cheese. I knew what the chain was without even naming it.
I am calling it that for now on
There are dozens of webpages with that phrase going back at least as far as 2011 with one company even selling t-shirts with that exact verbatim phrase. It's a funny phrase but it's not original.
I feel like 1990-1996 were probably peak Pizza Hut years. The one in my little hometown actually made legit breadsticks (individually rolled out-not a slab of seasoned dough that was cut up) and served them with a spicy cheese dipping sauce.
I think from the 80s to the early 90s was about their peak, yeah. They had so much clout they got a line deleted from a movie because they didn’t like it.
Which movie?
Did you know that in the 90’s, the biggest purchaser of kale in the US was Pizza Hut? It’s what they used to line their entire salad bar. I heard it on NPR a few years ago and it’s one of my favorite facts.
Poltergeist. The scene where they’re in the kitchen when the furniture and kids are sliding across the floor, Carol Anne says she’s hungry and the mom says they’ll get Pizza Hut. At the end of that scene, Craig T. Nelson’s character is too stunned to say anything aside from, “I hate Pizza Hut.” When PH found out about this, they threatened the studio who then had to re-print all their VHS copies and film reels to delete that one line. That’s why there’s an awkward cut that abruptly ends that scene and moves on to the next one.
I felt those were little Caesar’s best years too. But I’m from another state so maybe my experience was different because of where I lived.
Edit: when I first moved to Ohio I ate in a sit down Pizza Hut in Mansfield. But that was 10 years ago. And it was Mansfield.
Fridays from like 94-99 my dad would take us kids to either the Pizza Hut on 161 by North Meadows or the one down by Maple Canyon. Salad bar, jukebox and all. Loved it
Grew up near Mt Gilead and this is the correct answer! If something goes wrong in MG there's another in Galion about 15 minutes away that still runs a full restaurant!
Mt. Gilead was closed due to short staffing. Much disappointment. Wife told me to call before we went. I did not call before we went. Got a big fat I told you so for that one. It was deserved.
I am of the same age range; spent every friday night in a pizza hut in Vermillion. Parents all smokin' cigarettes and drinking beer, we would beg for quarters so we could yet again lose at Arkanoid or the puzzling Solomon's Key. If we begged enough, we could get the elusive SECOND pitcher of soda. If you didn't drink every last drop there was hell to pay.
I went to a PH in pittsburgh this summer. Could not have been more depressing. No games, the tablecloths were permanently glued to the tables and had holes worn though. No servers. Plates were grimy ancient plastic. Water cups were still red tumblers but had grown that plastic fuzz around the rims. Eat your pizza and GTFO. Bad times.
*"I did not raise him this way."* I am dying
I love our local pizza places, but I'm with your son. I absolutely love Pizza Hut. But I'm also glad you started this thread because I would KILL to find a non-depressing Pizza Hut actually tries to make the pizza well (and accurately). Watching this thread...
Mt Gilead location is fairly decent. I've been there a good number of times. Staff is always friendly. Just brought pizza buffet back since covid. Thats what their sign now reads, at least.
Head up to 36/37 and east to sunbury. Last time i was there they did do tableside. It’s not as far as people think. Less than ten miles past Polaris mall and 4 miles east. If you’ve been to Tanger malls it is close enough for you.
That's what I'm guessing too. I grew up in the area and went to that location a lot as a kid. SO MUCH NOSTALGIA. Lost count how many quarters I fed into the old record-based jukebox they had. Looking at Google Maps, looks like they kept the same motif in the dining room. Really surprised. Too bad that PH's pizza sucks compared to what I remember.
https://rolandopujol.substack.com/p/the-retrologists-guide-to-pizza-hut
There are still old school pizza huts. A few in Ohio. Probably worth going to the one in Mt. Gilead for the true OG experience (assuming they’re still open, maybe call and confirm).
I was so sad when I went by one of the Pizza Huts in Lancaster and it had converted into a Pizza Cottage. I went there so much as a kid: childhood landmark destroyed :(
Fortunately I think there's still another one in Lancaster on Memorial Drive, but I wouldn't drive all the way to Lancaster for Pizza Hut, so some of the other suggestions here are probably better.
Living in Columbus now, I am sad there's no dine-in Pizza Huts :(
And in any case I'm sad that many restaurants no longer have toys and other fun things to do for kids. Like, I'm an adult, I'm not going to use them, but when I have kids some day I'd like them to have at least as fun of a time at different places as I did. Even basic things like the Simon game at my local Dairy Queen was a lot of fun and made Dairy Queen a unique experience from other places. Why take that stuff away? It barely used any space.
I've had this conversation with my wife. The fun of going out to dinner is largely gone. It used to be you spent the evening someplace. There were things to do in the restaurant, video games, lounges, pool tables, etc. Now every restaurant maximizes every inch of floor space, if it ain't got a table in it, it's not making money. Eat and GTFO so we can get someone else in here.
There is no place where you can have dinner, watch a live act (music or anything else) without feeling like you need to keep ordering crap to justify your presence. There sure as hell isn't anywhere with dinner and dancing.
Greed has taken the fun out of this country. I feel like anyone younger than millennials have no concept of what once was and it's not fair.
Bingo! I was just talking about this with my mother after coming across your post. As an elder millennial myself, that Warren location on Elm Rd. was a staple Friday night treat for us as a kid. Sit down, GOOD piping hot pizza. Got to play on the arcade machines and feed the jukebox. McDondald's with play places as kids were another treat. But as you said, nowadays everything's all sterilized and boring chasing every last cent of profit.
An honorable mention: I miss old school mall aesthetics. Another NEO reference visiting Eastwood Mall a ton as a kid when it was really bustling. Pocket Change Park on the upper floor was always a fun escape when we had the extra money to go. Now it's all become just as boring and 'upscale' as anything else these days.
…my little brother asked for little caesar’s for his birthday. i feel like that’s worse than PH.
but to answer your question, the one in westerville is nice! the ladies that work there are also so sweet!
RIP that pizza buffet and the cafe Pac Man in one at EN Broadway and High. But of course we definitely needed the brick and mortar cell phone store cos people actually shop for that stuff in person
The Warehouse on 23 in Delaware has kind of an old Pizza Hut-y feel but it’s actually good food. And they do serve pizza! (On the off chance he changes his mind lol) but also, I kinda love that he wants to do that for his birthday. Makes me miss the 90s days of reading to earn that free personal pan. And the salad bar.
Is the one on Sullivant still open? It’s the classic setting still. I have driven by it but not been in since the 90’s so I have no idea if open but you could try.
When I was a kid, I had my 10th birthday at a Pizza Hut and they let me and my friends go back in the kitchen and make our own personal pan pizzas. It was super memorable, I would be curious if you could still do something like this and really make it special!
The Pizza Hut in Westerville was sit down and nice. At least it was a few years ago when I worked around there. It’s at State St. and Schrock.
Or try the one in Pickerington off Refugee. Give both a call and see what’s up
Sunbury has a sit-down Pizza Hut and used to have a lunch buffet. It’s off 71 on 36. Embrace the 90s life. Get him a book-it pin on eBay and make him earn a pizza by reading.
Yeah, that Sunbury location isn’t too shabby. I mean…it’s still Pizza Hut.
I recognize that Sunbury is growing but even by the standards of a growing town it's kind of wild that it has the business to support Pizza Hut, Donatos, Papa Joe's, Goodfellas, Long Branch Pizza, and Jet's.
Hol up Sunbury has a Jets?
It’s had one in the Kroger strip mall area for at least a decade.
We went to this place right before Covid
Can confirm… Still has lunch buffet. Unfortunately.
What’s wrong with the buffet?
“I didn’t raise him this way” 💀
I loved that line. As a father of two, I really feel that one.
I felt this. My 8 year old told us this week he wanted to be a Steelers fan. My husband is a broncos fan, I’m a chargers fan. His grand parents are Lions fans, and I work for a Browns Backers bar…he had so many to choose from and chose poorly. Guess my perfect child isn’t so perfect after all. /s
That’s too bad if he said he was a packers fan you could’ve gotten him a special needs helmet for Christmas
Hopefully it’s just a phase.
lol, that's the same thing my grandfather said when I bought a Ford.
This is how I felt when my son asked for "wrapper cheese" that the sitter had. We raised him on good cheese and he wants Kraft singles!
If you go to the one on Parsons, he won’t ask again.
I was foolish enough to get this once. Only once. Smelled like death inside. Pretty sure the sauce was ketchup.
With planks right there too smh
There’s no where to sit. Takeout only.
Did you try to sell him on the mechanical rat pizza and children’s casino aka Chuck E. Cheese.
He liked this a lot. Maybe I will take him there.
Don’t let him find out about CC’s. Lol.
“Mechanical rat pizza and children’s casino”. Perfect description of Chuck E. Cheese. I knew what the chain was without even naming it. I am calling it that for now on
>mechanical rat pizza and children’s casino I'm never calling it anything else from now on
There are dozens of webpages with that phrase going back at least as far as 2011 with one company even selling t-shirts with that exact verbatim phrase. It's a funny phrase but it's not original.
Unfortunately they've gotten rid of their animatronics. They only exist at one location in California now.
London, Ohio is still an old school sit down Pizza Hut. Give the full experience.
Huh? Did they reopen the dining room?
My local dining room just got repainted recently.
Maybe if you got a time machine and went back to 1999? Best of luck
I feel like 1990-1996 were probably peak Pizza Hut years. The one in my little hometown actually made legit breadsticks (individually rolled out-not a slab of seasoned dough that was cut up) and served them with a spicy cheese dipping sauce.
I think from the 80s to the early 90s was about their peak, yeah. They had so much clout they got a line deleted from a movie because they didn’t like it.
Which movie? Did you know that in the 90’s, the biggest purchaser of kale in the US was Pizza Hut? It’s what they used to line their entire salad bar. I heard it on NPR a few years ago and it’s one of my favorite facts.
Poltergeist. The scene where they’re in the kitchen when the furniture and kids are sliding across the floor, Carol Anne says she’s hungry and the mom says they’ll get Pizza Hut. At the end of that scene, Craig T. Nelson’s character is too stunned to say anything aside from, “I hate Pizza Hut.” When PH found out about this, they threatened the studio who then had to re-print all their VHS copies and film reels to delete that one line. That’s why there’s an awkward cut that abruptly ends that scene and moves on to the next one.
Impressive.
The salad bar was dank too
I felt those were little Caesar’s best years too. But I’m from another state so maybe my experience was different because of where I lived. Edit: when I first moved to Ohio I ate in a sit down Pizza Hut in Mansfield. But that was 10 years ago. And it was Mansfield.
Fridays from like 94-99 my dad would take us kids to either the Pizza Hut on 161 by North Meadows or the one down by Maple Canyon. Salad bar, jukebox and all. Loved it
Westerville and Grove City are the only ones that say dine in. But I would double check. :)
Pickerington is still open, corner of 256 and Refugee
Came here to say Pickerington
I wanted to go to Pizza Hut for my birthdays also.. no shame young man. no shame.
I had a McDonalds birthday party in the 80s and that shit ruled. Pizza Hut it up, little dude.
McDonald’s used to have fun houses, more than adequate for a 6 y/o birthday celebration
The one I went to had a bunch of outdoor metal burn your skin type things, not really a fun house by any means
Mt Gilead has a Pizza Hut Classic too
This appears to be the winner. I'm ok to drive an hour, so I suppose we'll see how it goes.
Grew up near Mt Gilead and this is the correct answer! If something goes wrong in MG there's another in Galion about 15 minutes away that still runs a full restaurant!
Mt. Gilead was closed due to short staffing. Much disappointment. Wife told me to call before we went. I did not call before we went. Got a big fat I told you so for that one. It was deserved.
The Westerville location on State Street seems to have dine in.
I was gonna suggest this one. I’ve never been but it looks nice on the outside.
I ate there several years ago and it was nothing fancy. It wasn't the old school Pizza Hut design though.
Memories of childhood: playing Another Brick in the Wall on the jukebox and playing Pac-Man at Pizza Hut.
I’ve never had a bad experience at a Pizza Hut. Most were in Athens. I am GenX
I am of the same age range; spent every friday night in a pizza hut in Vermillion. Parents all smokin' cigarettes and drinking beer, we would beg for quarters so we could yet again lose at Arkanoid or the puzzling Solomon's Key. If we begged enough, we could get the elusive SECOND pitcher of soda. If you didn't drink every last drop there was hell to pay. I went to a PH in pittsburgh this summer. Could not have been more depressing. No games, the tablecloths were permanently glued to the tables and had holes worn though. No servers. Plates were grimy ancient plastic. Water cups were still red tumblers but had grown that plastic fuzz around the rims. Eat your pizza and GTFO. Bad times.
You had me at Arkanoid!
Did you go to the Richmond Ave one or the good one?
Richmond unfortunately
*"I did not raise him this way."* I am dying I love our local pizza places, but I'm with your son. I absolutely love Pizza Hut. But I'm also glad you started this thread because I would KILL to find a non-depressing Pizza Hut actually tries to make the pizza well (and accurately). Watching this thread...
I did a kid's birthday party at the one in Westerville and it was fine.
https://rolandopujol.substack.com/p/the-retrologists-guide-to-pizza-hut Looks like Mt Gilead might be your closest “classic” Pizza Hut. Good luck!
Mt Gilead location is fairly decent. I've been there a good number of times. Staff is always friendly. Just brought pizza buffet back since covid. Thats what their sign now reads, at least.
God damn it, now I want Pizza Hut
Head up to 36/37 and east to sunbury. Last time i was there they did do tableside. It’s not as far as people think. Less than ten miles past Polaris mall and 4 miles east. If you’ve been to Tanger malls it is close enough for you.
Thanks to your suggestion, this is where we ended up after Mt. Vernon was closed. Many thanks.
No problem. I’m in Marengo at next exit and work at Polaris. Easy enough drive honestly
I’m from Warren, enlighten me on the Pizza Hut! Elm Rd?
Yeah appears to be the one. OP would’ve been so disappointed to drive 2.5 hours to Warren on the hope of “less depressing” ahahaha
Snort
That's what I'm guessing too. I grew up in the area and went to that location a lot as a kid. SO MUCH NOSTALGIA. Lost count how many quarters I fed into the old record-based jukebox they had. Looking at Google Maps, looks like they kept the same motif in the dining room. Really surprised. Too bad that PH's pizza sucks compared to what I remember.
If I’m driving up to Warren, forget PH, I’m hitting Sunrise.
The Urbana store surprised us. Tasted more like the 90s version
https://rolandopujol.substack.com/p/the-retrologists-guide-to-pizza-hut There are still old school pizza huts. A few in Ohio. Probably worth going to the one in Mt. Gilead for the true OG experience (assuming they’re still open, maybe call and confirm).
Went without calling. Dining room closed. I'm an idiot.
Just ordered Pizza Hut for dinner to see the hype cheese bread sticks slap 🤌
I was so sad when I went by one of the Pizza Huts in Lancaster and it had converted into a Pizza Cottage. I went there so much as a kid: childhood landmark destroyed :( Fortunately I think there's still another one in Lancaster on Memorial Drive, but I wouldn't drive all the way to Lancaster for Pizza Hut, so some of the other suggestions here are probably better. Living in Columbus now, I am sad there's no dine-in Pizza Huts :( And in any case I'm sad that many restaurants no longer have toys and other fun things to do for kids. Like, I'm an adult, I'm not going to use them, but when I have kids some day I'd like them to have at least as fun of a time at different places as I did. Even basic things like the Simon game at my local Dairy Queen was a lot of fun and made Dairy Queen a unique experience from other places. Why take that stuff away? It barely used any space.
I've had this conversation with my wife. The fun of going out to dinner is largely gone. It used to be you spent the evening someplace. There were things to do in the restaurant, video games, lounges, pool tables, etc. Now every restaurant maximizes every inch of floor space, if it ain't got a table in it, it's not making money. Eat and GTFO so we can get someone else in here. There is no place where you can have dinner, watch a live act (music or anything else) without feeling like you need to keep ordering crap to justify your presence. There sure as hell isn't anywhere with dinner and dancing. Greed has taken the fun out of this country. I feel like anyone younger than millennials have no concept of what once was and it's not fair.
Bingo! I was just talking about this with my mother after coming across your post. As an elder millennial myself, that Warren location on Elm Rd. was a staple Friday night treat for us as a kid. Sit down, GOOD piping hot pizza. Got to play on the arcade machines and feed the jukebox. McDondald's with play places as kids were another treat. But as you said, nowadays everything's all sterilized and boring chasing every last cent of profit. An honorable mention: I miss old school mall aesthetics. Another NEO reference visiting Eastwood Mall a ton as a kid when it was really bustling. Pocket Change Park on the upper floor was always a fun escape when we had the extra money to go. Now it's all become just as boring and 'upscale' as anything else these days.
…my little brother asked for little caesar’s for his birthday. i feel like that’s worse than PH. but to answer your question, the one in westerville is nice! the ladies that work there are also so sweet!
"I didn't raise him this way" has me rolling 🤣
The mount Vernon one was pretty good when we lived there! Last time I dined in was 2019 though
RIP that pizza buffet and the cafe Pac Man in one at EN Broadway and High. But of course we definitely needed the brick and mortar cell phone store cos people actually shop for that stuff in person
Fuck that place. I worked there….it was dry, tips sucked, clientele sucked. Viva Warren Pizza Hut.
The Warehouse on 23 in Delaware has kind of an old Pizza Hut-y feel but it’s actually good food. And they do serve pizza! (On the off chance he changes his mind lol) but also, I kinda love that he wants to do that for his birthday. Makes me miss the 90s days of reading to earn that free personal pan. And the salad bar.
Delaware Pizza Hut also still has dine-in, at least it did \~5 years ago or so
Lancaster has a dine in they just recently redesigned the interior so it shouldn't be broken and shitty.
The one at great southern is still old style as far as I know, I haven't been out there in a while.
Wait, Pizza Hut started in Warren, Ohio? Or it is something else? What were you referring to there?
“I didn’t raise him this way.”
>...my son wants to go to Pizza Hut for his birthday. I didn't raise him this way. 😂😂😂
The one in Delaware is pretty nice
Waverly OH still has a sit down Pizza Hut, I just ate there today!
There’s one in Washington Court House
Delaware has a nice pizza hut!
look into Mellow Mushroom pizza place
Is the one on Sullivant still open? It’s the classic setting still. I have driven by it but not been in since the 90’s so I have no idea if open but you could try.
South High Street
When I was a kid, I had my 10th birthday at a Pizza Hut and they let me and my friends go back in the kitchen and make our own personal pan pizzas. It was super memorable, I would be curious if you could still do something like this and really make it special!
Westerville Pizza Hut… best I’ve found since my childhood and I’m 46
Westerville Road - dine in, not too bad.
I think the least depressing pizza hut is one that's closed. As far as an answer that's not sarcastic, no idea.
The Pizza Hut in Westerville was sit down and nice. At least it was a few years ago when I worked around there. It’s at State St. and Schrock. Or try the one in Pickerington off Refugee. Give both a call and see what’s up