BUCYRUS–No matter how you slice it, Pizza Hut is serving up a brand-new look.

The restaurant, 1750 E. Mansfield St., is adding the final “toppings” on a major renovation project that started in mid-July, complete with new flooring, LED lighting, signs, and seating in the dining area, which is now open to the public.

“We’ve repositioned the restaurant to reflect today’s consumer styles,” said Rod Staiger, director of operations for the company’s 16 area locations, including Bucyrus and Galion.

“It’s counter service. More and more people are eating in places with counter service.”

As part of the renovation, a convenient pick-up window was added to the east side of the building, Staiger said. The interior features new carpet in the dining room and ceramic tile flooring that resembles wooden planks on the opposite side near the main entrance.

Staiger said a good chunk of the renovation project is a throwback to the 1970’s Pizza Hut era – red and white signs with black lettering on the exterior, hanging stained glass lights above the pick-up counter, and old-fashioned pizza images on canvas wall art.

“We call that an iconic logo,” Staiger said of the restaurant’s 12-foot long red roof and the matching sign out front, which reflect the logo introduced by the Texas-based firm in 1974. “We worked with corporate on the remodeling. Certain elements they wanted us to work in.”

The building’s original brick, which dates to 1975 when it opened, was kept intact, Staiger said.

But new wiring and canned lighting were added to the ceiling of the 2,400 square-foot eatery, he said, and sleek, metal tables and chairs were ordered for customers preferring to dine in.

As part of the upgrades, the kitchen’s “flow pattern” was reconfigured, Staiger said, to improve that busy workspace and make it more efficient for those employees. A new commercial oven and walk-in cooler were also installed in the kitchen area toward the back.

A fresh coat of paint and textured wallpaper below the chair rail added the finishing touches on the three-month-long overhaul. The parking lot is also getting resealed and striped, plus four outside light fixtures are being replaced with more energy-efficient LED’s, Staiger said.

The last remodeling for the establishment was in 2011-2012, Staiger said. “We try to go through and update our restaurants every seven to 10 years.

That’s what we try to do. We’re pleased, very pleased with how it’s turned out.”