Pizza Hut’s first branch in this country will stay in business even though 68 restaurants are set to close, the company announced on 20 October.
Although the companies UK operator has fallen into administration, 1,276 jobs were saved, and 64 restaurants will remain open after Pizza Hut’s global owner acquired them.
“Customers said they saw the news on social media that many branches were closing but we told them that we are not affected. We are still serving the name Pizza Hut and we are proud to serve it,” said the Islington’s restaurant manager, who asked not to be named.
The closures resulted in the loss of 1,210 jobs across the country, with nine restaurants closing around London.
“Of course we feel bad for what happened because it is a part of us,” Islington’s manager said.
Employees at the Islington location “were disturbed” when waiting to hear if the location would remain open. “We were very happy that we had support from our management. They [assured] us that we were in safe hands.”
Local customers are said to have been happy to hear the restaurant remains in business, according to the manager.
“We are in a very good position, we know we are safe,” he said.
Claudia Efemini is an MA Newspaper Journalism student at City St George's, University of London. She has previously written for BBC Africa and BLK Brit covering Africa and the diaspora across news, culture, and business.