Inside the Gympie Pizza Hut’s all you can eat buffet

Pizza Hut’s were once all you can eat buffets and dining institutions across Australia. Now, they are almost exclusively delivery services, with Gympie’s beloved business a rare exception. We take a look inside one of Queensland’s last surviving dine-in Hut’s.

Gympie’s iconic Pizza Hut, steadfastly located on the Bruce Highway opposite Gympie Centro, has weathered more than just the gradual shut down of buffet restaurants, but managed to shake off the pandemic blues as well.

The restaurant is impossible to miss, with its iconic roof summoning instant nostalgia for anyone who ate with a sports team, attended a church youth group, or celebrated a children’s birthday party within the walls of a Pizza Hut since the brand launched in Australia the 1970s.

The pizza and pasta buffet also serves single pieces of garlic bread along with hot chips and potato gems. Picture: Christine Schindler

Nostalgia is what keeps its doors open now, despite being only one of two remaining dine-in restaurants in Queensland, Gympie’s Pizza Hut manager Amanpreet Kaur said.

“It’s childhood memories, so many people come here and talk about their childhood,” she said.

Pizza Hut’s first Australian store opened in Sydney in 1970 and delivered its first pizza in 1985 to keep up with the competition from Domino’s.

The same year, (1985) Sizzler opened an all you can eat buffet store in Brisbane.

When Gympie’s Pizza Hut opened its doors in 1992, joining more than 330 other Hut restaurants across the country.

The height of the buffet boom was survived for another decade, before a slow demise forced Sizzler to fizzle out of the market and pandemic restrictions in 2020 doing further damage.

Pizza Hut still has more than 270 stores in Australia but only six offer the all you can eat dine-in experience.

Two of two of them are in Queensland.

The prices are not in the nostalgia of the past. Picture: Christine Schindler

Ms Kaur, who started working at the restaurant four years ago, said during Covid Gympie’s Pizza Hut survived on takeaway orders as the dine-in section had to close.

Upon reopening the restaurant has filled up and feels busier than pre-Covid, she said.

It has proven to be a draw for big groups including whole families wanting to dine together, birthday parties, sports groups, and particularly church groups.

The brick hut serving pizza is a throwback to the 90ss – the ground is worn from kid’s shoes scuffing its floors, and all the tables and chairs can be sprayed and wiped as easily and quickly as pizza and pasta sauce spill on it.

The clientele come across a considerable distance to enjoy the venue, too.

“People come from all over the region to eat here, from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Townsville,” said Ms Kaur.

Gympie’s Pizza Hut is still enjoyed and frequented by people all over Queensland, not just from Gympie. Picture: Christine Schindler

When you first enter the store, you’re given a set of cutlery, a glass bowl and a white plate – your utensils for the course of the meal, with the challenge of squeezing as much as possible on the plate.

The ice cream machine has remained a constant source of fascination, albeit a test of hygiene control for the children.

The Gympie Pizza Hut has remained a child-friendly dining experience, where children can pick and choose what they want to eat, rather than be restricted to choosing off a menu.

It is a happy medium between the fast-food in-and-out dining experience of McDonalds and a sit-down, table service restaurant.

The all you can eat buffet price has been forced to keep up with the times, with the adult price for what was once called “the works” now $16.95 compared to $6.95 in 1996.

It includes pizza, pasta, sides and desserts. Drinks are not included.

 The drinks menu include an assortment of soft drinks as well as and beer, wine, and cans of Jack Daniels.

Inside one of the last remaining all you can eat buffet Pizza Hut dine in experiences - Gympie Pizza Hut. April 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

The pizza and pasta buffet offers hot chips, potato gems, single pieces of garlic bread and plain pasta with a choice of topping with tomato or creamy sauce.

The salad and dessert buffet is neatly partitioned for a build-your-own salad, with fruit, chocolate mousse, and brownies.

There is no middle ground for the online reviews, Rob B gave it three stars with his google review: “I think it’s great we still have a dine in Pizza Hut, but it's not going to survive if there’s no food at the ‘all you can eat’ buffet [ …].”

Others, like Perrin Armstrong, embraced the spirit giving it a five stars: “All you can eat? Challenge accepted. [ …] Recommend the pasta. I could go on and on about how charming the experience was but you’ll just have to try it yourself.”