Much like other national chains, they're abandoning sit down stores. Too much overhead building-wise - and the pizza buying public simply does not want to go and sit in store to eat chain pizza. Mom and Pop pizza, sure. But not chain pizza.
Secondly, I've always thought when they went away from the 3 level rotary ovens to a conveyor belt (which in turn never cooks that thick a pie thorough enough...especially the crust) - their pizza just plain isn't as good. 8 minute simply is not long enough.
When I was 18-19 I worked at the CR 6th St SW store, then the Town & Country store when it first opened in 1981. Back then, the 6th St store had the rotary oven...best pizza at that time I've ever had - you had to load the pizza and literally baby sit it until done. The carousel had a metal plate that turned...that style of oven got the crust done...think of it as a pizza stone...it absorbed heat and transferred it to the crust perfect.
The T&C store had the conveyor belt - no way to actually over-cook it (an oven for idiots I called it). The belt itself is a mesh, not a solid metal plate - and the burner elements were roughly 5-6 inches below the mesh belt/pizza pan. In short, less "direct heat".
When I made a pie for myself, the conveyor cooked a pizza in 8 minutes. I'd take my pie, open the side door (there for cleaning etc), and throw it back in for 4-6 more minutes. Obviously - they do not do that ever for customers.
Initially, we got a lot of complaints/requests about "my pizza isn't done" or "cook it well done please".
Third...one can get the closest mass produced comparison to theirs (Casey's) just about everywhere in much of the exact same footprint.
I'm betting Godfather's doesn't make it as a company past 2025, which is sad. Back in the day, they were easily the best chain pizza around.