Williamsburg getting new Pizza Hut building

For fans of the Williamsburg Pizza Hut, there is some bad news and some good news for you.

Photo by Charlotte Vanover

The bad news is that the longtime restaurant off Exit 11 will be closing at the end of business on Saturday, May 8.

The good news is that the reason it is closing is so that the old store can be torn down and a new store can be built to replace it at the same location.

It is tentatively expected to open again in August.

“The new store is going to be more modern. We are going to have everything brand new. We are going to put in three big screen televisions. There will be new equipment for us. There will also be all new plates. Everything you can imagine will be all new,” said Shannon Barman, Williamsburg Pizza Hut manager and a district manager in training.

In addition, the new store will also have a drive-thru for the first time in store history, and a patio section will also be installed, Barman noted.

Seating capacity will remain about the same as it is now.

“I am just excited. It is going to be amazing,” Barman said. “I am super stoked.”

The old store opened on Dec. 6, 1976 and has received some upgrades, but the original building is still intact.

“Nothing has been done with the original set-up,” Barman added.

Once the new store is completed, Barman said that she plans to hold a big grand reopening party to celebrate.

None of the 20 Williamsburg Pizza Hut employees will be out of work during the construction.

Barman said that part of the employees will be using a mobile vehicle with a pizza oven, and will still be providing pizza for the Kentucky Splash waterpark this summer.

Barman also plans to reach out to another business that Pizza Hut provides pizza for once a month about continuing to provide pizzas for them.

The store’s parent company, Tasty Hut, will be providing employment for the Williamsburg employees at its other stores.

“My boss offered to rent a van so we can car pool,” Barman added.