As consumers increasingly seek comfort, familiarity and connection, nostalgia is making a comeback in the restaurant industry, and Yum!’s brands are getting in on the game – from the Decades menu at Taco Bell to the return of potato wedges at KFC. Pizza Hut is leaning into the trend in an even bigger way.

A recent TODAY segment highlighted how classic restaurant brands are reviving retro designs and experiences that remind guests of family dinners, birthday celebrations and memorable nights out.

Across155 Pizza Hut restaurants in the U.S., guests are rediscovering iconic features from the brand’s earlier years, including red cups, checkered tablecloths, cozy vinyl booths, Tiffany-style lamps, classic arcade games and even the unmistakable red roof design.

From TikTok to Instagram, pilgrimages to these nostalgic locations are driving comments and conversation.

Families are traveling from neighboring towns and sometimes neighboring states, to experience the retro-inspired restaurants firsthand. For many guests, the experience goes beyond pizza. It’s about reconnecting with memories of gathering around the red checkered tablecloth covered table with friends and family.

As the saying goes, “what’s old is new again.” The renewed interest in nostalgic food and experiences reflect a broader cultural trend. In Collider Lab’s 2026 Food Trends Report, consumers described turning to food for “small, sensory, everyday acts” that provide comfort, emotional grounding and a sense of control in an increasingly chaotic world.

For many guests, revisiting a classic Pizza Hut dining room offers exactly that: a familiar experience that feels authentic, comforting and sparks memories of gathering around the table with friends and family.

For Pizza Hut, these classic elements represent more than décor. They celebrate the brand’s heritage while reminding guests why Pizza Hut became part of so many family traditions in the first place.

As the retro revival continues, these locations are helping introduce a new generation of fans to the timeless Pizza Hut dine-in experience.

Ten undergraduates at the University of Louisville (UofL) are testing how a proven business model turns ambition into action. They’re part of Yum! Scholars, a program orchestrated by the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence, which awards selected students $8,000 each over four years to fund their studies, providing them with an insider’s perspective into the world of franchising.

The 2025 cohort of University of Louisville Yum! Scholars with Kathy Gosser, director of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence and College of Business Dean Amy Henley.

Founded in 2021 by a joint venture between the university and Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill, the center offers education at all levels, including the newly launched Yum! Scholars Program, which is funded by a $1 million endowment from the Yum! Brands Foundation. Each participant earns $1,000 per semester while enrolled, with coursework and case studies that link classroom concepts to franchise operations. The aim is to turn curiosity about franchising and business into competencies that travel across careers.

“This generation is focused on entrepreneurship,” said Kathleen Gosser, who has a doctorate in Educational Leadership & Organizational Development and is the center director and associate professor at the UofL College of Business. “Franchising can be a path to ownership, leadership and growth. Many of our scholars aren’t business majors, but they’re using franchising to learn how to build inside a system designed to scale.”

One such student is Taron Smith, a junior neuroscience major planning for a career in forensic psychology, who began to rethink where franchising fit into his goals.

“Neuroscience has always been my thing,” Smith said. “But when I learned about this opportunity, I saw a way to get insights into the way businesses operate. Even if I stay in psychology, it is a skill I will always use.”

Smith also values getting to know more about his cohort and their unique blends of interests across majors, with future dentists, social workers, accountants and budding tech founders.

For Mateo Barrientos, a public health major on a pre-dental track, a forwarded application from his chemistry professor led to his choice to apply. He grew up around his family-owned business and at UofL, found a mentor who showed him that healthcare and business can reinforce one another.

“He was a business major before becoming a dentist,” Barrientos said. “He owned restaurants and dental offices and showed me how powerful franchising can be. That really stuck with me because you can incorporate business and franchising into almost anything you do.”

Mateo plans to open a practice that expands access for families who face barriers to care. “I love dentistry, but I do not want it to consume my whole life,” he said. “A business mindset gives you freedom. It helps you grow what you love and use it to help others.”

First-generation college student Kyleigh Greenwell sees the scholarship as others expressing confidence in her potential. Classroom learning is now connected to a larger story about how business systems operate and where she can lead. She also sees a franchise education as giving her a leg-up in her career. “As an accountant, you see all kinds of businesses,” she said. “Franchising is everywhere. Understanding how it works will give me an edge.”

That competitive edge exists for the 10 students currently in the program and will extend to another 20 students annually over the next year.

“The Yum! Scholars Program aims to meet future leaders where they are and equips them to go beyond their career,” Gosser said. “You can’t ask for a better outcome.”

Several single-unit franchise operators will graduate this week from a unique professional development program, created by the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at the University of Louisville. The participants are part of the Accelerating Growth, Unit Expansion track – the center’s third such cohort – and each hope to grow their leadership, using what they’ve learned as a roadmap for multi-unit expansion. For six months, the professionals have attended online classes, taken assessments and crafted a 100-day plan outlining how they would manage several restaurants in a new market.

These graduates are a testament to the center that has evolved tremendously since its inception in 2021. It now offers the aforementioned professional education certificate as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees.

“We want people to understand that the sky’s the limit in franchising,” said Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence Director Kathleen Gosser, who has a doctorate in Educational Leadership & Organizational Development.

So far, Gosser and her team have had the opportunity to demonstrate franchising’s unlimited potential to hundreds of students, including 650 undergraduates who have enrolled in the franchise courses.

Ten of those are attending the university with financial aid thanks to a new initiative called Yum! Scholars. Launched in fall 2025 with a $1 million endowment from Yum! Brands, the program offers Kentucky-based students financial support, by way of $1,000 each semester for up to four years, as well as mentorship and hands-on experience with franchise organizations. Currently there are five sophomores and five juniors, but in fall 2026, the program will expand to include five freshmen, for a total of 15, with the goal of 20 for a full cohort in 2027.

“The concept is they have to have some interest in franchising,” Gosser said. “But they don’t have to be a business major, and that’s the beauty of it. We allow students to explore the world of franchising because, we believe, it has real world applications.”

Mateo Barrientos, a public health major and Yum! Scholar, can already see those applications just a few months into the program.

“One of my professors and mentors was a business major before becoming a dentist, and he showed me how powerful franchising can be,” he said. “He owned restaurants and dental offices and built a life that balanced passion and independence. That really stuck with me because you can incorporate franchising into almost anything you do. Even in fields like neuroscience or dentistry, franchising teaches you how to build something sustainable and grow your passion. You need that business side to be truly successful in any field.”

While other educational franchising programs exist, the UofL College of Business in affiliation with the Center is the only one that offers certification at undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, and in 2026, the university will be the first to offer a post-doctoral degree focused on franchising. Supported by Associate Professor Denise Cumberland, who has a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Organizational Development and 20 years of experience in franchising, the PhD is an expansion of a current entrepreneurship degree with research that focuses on franchising.

“A PhD focused on franchising is rare, right? No one really has it,” Gosser said. “It’s a bit of a unicorn, but there are so many ways to use it. They could work for a franchisor in any type of capacity.”

All of this advancement has caught the attention of the International Society of Franchising, which has selected the Yum! Center to host its 40^th annual conference in 2027, timed so the program’s PhD students can present their research to attendees.

“This year, the conference was in Cyprus. Next year, it will be in Rome, so it’s a great opportunity for our students. It’s quite an honor to host scholars from around the world focused on franchising,” Gosser said.

But perhaps the greatest honor comes in the form of a recent student who’s now a franchisee. Abby Epperly graduated in the spring and just signed a contract to open a Bad Ass Coffee store with her father. Knowing that a cohort was graduating this week, she gave this advice.

“Books alone don’t prepare you like the real-life education that you get at the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence,” Epperly said. “I am well equipped when I enter conversations with my franchisor and suppliers because I feel as though I’ve already had these same discussions in class.”

The center, she said, has so much that a franchisee could need at any point in their career.