Out with the old, in with the new.

Pizza Hut’s new location in Rockmart is now open for business on the corner of Nathan Dean Parkway and North Piedmont Avenue, just a stone’s throw away from the old Hut location that will in the near future be torn down and replaced by a Burger King.

Owners broke ground on the new Pizza Hut in March on the new location, which was completed before summer’s end.

The new Hut is much smaller but with a drive-thru window still – as the chain moves away from their classic eat-in and carryout business to one purely designed around the concept of pizza being taken home or delivered.

Pizza Hut’s move is the latest restaurant openings along the Nathan Dean Bypass corridor in recent months. The new Las Palmas opened its doors after taking over the old El Nopal in June.

GPS Hospitality is the owners of Pizza Hut in Rockmart along with other restaurants nationwide including Popeye’s Chicken and Burger King locations, including those around Polk County in Rome, Calhoun, Summerville, Cartersville, Villa Rica and in the Metro Atlanta area.

Pizza Hut’s new location at the turn into the Ingle’s shopping complex (that also includes Waffle House and McDonald’s) and connects with Chattahoochee Drive brings the total number of drive-thru chain establishments in the immediate area up to 15 from Highway 101/N. Piedmont Ave. down Nathan Dean Parkway to Goodyear Avenue/Highway 113.

The new Pizza Hut at 1301 N. Piedmont Ave. got a 100 on their health inspection completed earlier this month on July 10.

Hours should still remain the same at 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, but information wasn’t immediately available about the new Pizza Hut (not even on the corporate website) as of this posting.