Major pizza dining chains and their smaller competitors have suffered during the current economic downturn, as consumers have been ordering fewer pies from restaurants and have instead turned to frozen pizza to satisfy their needs.
The most eye-opening data from Baking Business shows that 25% of consumers report that they are eating more store-bought frozen pies than steaming hot pizza parlor options, as TheStreet’s Daniel Kline reported.
This consumer behavior can be devastating for smaller pizza chains, as some have been forced to close locations.
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Pie Tap Pizza closes only Houston location
Beloved pizza dining chain Pie Tap Pizza surprised its culinary fans by closing its only location in Houston on March 6 after operating for less than a year.
“Thank you Houston,” the message on Facebook stated.
“We are closing our doors. Thank you for all of your support. We’ll be back soon,” the message curiously said.
Pie Tap’s owners did not reveal a specific reason for closing the restaurant, and did not say when they plan to open another location in Houston.
The restaurant also did not say whether employees would be laid off.
The Dallas-based pizza chain opened its River Oaks location in Houston on June 1, 2025, and, nine months later, revealed on social media that it had shut down.
Customers comment on restaurant closing
Perplexed customers responded to the closing on Facebook.
“When is your last day? Google said you’re permanently closed. Closed, not closing…,” said one post.
Others were shocked.
“Wow! That was short lived.”
“Wow! What happened?”
Another post speculated on the reasons for the closing.
“The non consistent hours and apartment parking was a factor. Maybe another location would be best.”
Owners will open Mexican restaurant
Pie Tap is operated by Reach Hospitality of Plano, Texas, which plans to open another Dallas-based restaurant, The Mexican, in an Uptown Houston office park, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The pizza restaurant chain opened its first location in the Dallas Design District in 2016, after originally planning to open in 2015 on North Henderson Avenue.
First Pie Tap Pizza opening delayed
Concerns from the city of Dallas and neighborhood groups over parking and other potential problems delayed the Henderson opening until after the Design District location opened, Culture Map Dallas reported.
Pie Tap has five other locations at 5100 Beltline Road in Dallas, 1301 W. Magnolia Ave. in Fort Worth, 1900 Preston Road in Plano, Texas, 4880 Eldorado Parkway, Frisco, Texas, and 6701 Alma Road in McKinney, Texas.
The restaurant chain said in a Facebook post that it does not use commercial yeast for its pizza dough.
Pie Tap said its pizza dough’s sourdough starter dates back 300 years to Italy.
The pizza dining chain’s menu features 10 different pizzas, 5 different salads, 4 pastas, a variety of snacks and starters, sandwiches, desserts, and a kids’ menu.
Major chains close 100s of locations
Huge pizza chains, however, are closing hundreds of underperforming locations this year.
Giant pizza chain Pizza Hut, which claims to operate 6,700 locations in the U.S., has faced economic issues and reported it will close 250 underperforming restaurant locations as part of its Hut Forward plan in the first half of 2026, after reporting a 1% same-store sales decline globally in the fourth quarter and for the year in 2025.
Rival chain Papa John’s shared plans in its fourth-quarter earnings call that it plans to close approximately 300 underperforming locations, with 200 shut down in 2026 and the remainder in 2027, Papa John’s CFO Ravi Thanawala said in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
Related: Beloved pizza chain files 4th Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a year
