in the 80s, pizza hut had sit down restaurants with multiple arcade machines, soda fountains, and it was a place to hang out for hours. usually in proximity to a skating rink, an arcade, or a mall. in some communities, some fast food joints still have the status of being "the spot" for a group of elderly people to congregate and gossip in the early hours.
once all the other pizzerias were gone, pizza hut got rid of the arcade machines and restaurants and it just became a slop serving kitchen with delivery drivers. the skating rinks and arcades also closed and the malls died. very few residential areas have welcoming third places within walking distance anymore. every place except bars seem primarily interested in getting people in and out as fast as possible.
i get why people are nostalgic for the american landscape 40 years ago. it definitely had some stupid shit and people are certainly confused about what their nostalgia is really for, but in some ways its like most of the US was carpeted with neutron bombs and we're living in the sparse ruins and scavenged detritus of a mostly forgotten machine that was once buzzing with people loitering and hanging out.
that one is going to stick with me