Myanmar’s first Pizza Hut to open Thursday

Fast food haters, we hope you are sitting down. Pizza lovers, pay attention.

Just months after KFC opened its doors for the first time ever in Myanmar, Pizza Hut is following suit.

Let that sink in for a moment. Myanmar may not have democracy yet, but it does have KFC and Pizza Hut (somewhere, a graduate student is writing a thesis on this very topic, or so we hope).

The global chain’s Myanmar operation is having a sort of soft opening at its inaugural location in Golden Valley, right next to Marketplace on Dhammazedi Road.

“Tomorrow we’re having what we’re calling a sneak peak,” said Simon Arnold, general manager of Jardine CM Restaurant Group, which formed a joint venture with City Mart to partner with Yum! Brands (the same company that owns KFC, by the way) and make Pizza Hut in Myanmar a reality.

Starting tomorrow the restaurant will be open from 11:30am to 2:30pm for lunch, and 6pm to 9pm for dinner. Normal hours of operation (10am to 10pm) will commence on November 1.

Arnold said the companies involved have invested a lot of money in the design and the quality of the location, which is aiming for a dine-in model. Sadly, no delivery for now.

“It’s going to be very aspirational, modern and contemporary,” he added. “It’s a time of change and hope now and I’d like to be kind of aligned to that so people can enjoy, I suppose, a new consumer experience or a new dining experience here.”

In what other country can political reform and pizza be alluded to in the same sentence? Welcome to the new Myanmar!

Arnold said that pizza prices will range from K10,000 (about $8) to your more fully loaded K18,000 pie.

“[The] cheapest products are around 2,500 kyat and then our pastas are around 4,500 to 5,000 depending on seafood and various ingredients,” he said.

With a big chain on the market, it remains to be seen how other smaller outfits will fare (Parami, Papa’s, Hot Stone, we’re talking about you).

And so it seems that the long-awaited pizza wars have finally arrived.

Photo / Facebook / Pizza Hut Myanmar

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