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Blaze Pizza in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
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| Blaze Pizza | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Food and beverage |
| Genre | Fast-casual restaurant |
| Founded | 2011; 13 years ago (2011) in California |
| Founders | Elise and Rick Wetzel |
| Headquarters |
,
United States
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Number of locations | 300+ |
Area served | United States, Canada, Bahrain |
Key people |
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| Products | Pizza, salad, cheesy bread, desserts, drinks |
| Website | blazepizza |
Blaze Pizza is an Atlanta, Georgia[2] –based fast-casual pizza restaurant chain. Founded in 2011 by Elise and Rick Wetzel of Wetzel's Pretzels, the chain is known for serving made-to-order pizzas.[3]
Blaze Pizza was founded in Pasadena, California, by Rick and Elise Wetzel in 2011. The chain's first location was opened in Irvine, California, in August 2012,[4] which was followed two months later by the opening of their second, and flagship, location in October 2012 in Pasadena.[5] The chain serves made-to-order pizzas, with a choice of various sauces and toppings. Its business model is similar to other chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Subway.[6][7][8] The pizzas are cooked in a high-temperature open-flame oven with an average cook time of three minutes.[9] The only piece of cooking equipment inside each of the restaurants is an oven.[10]
By the end of 2014, Blaze had become the first fast-casual pizza restaurant to achieve 50 opened units.[11] The company planned to have at least 500 locations by 2020.[12]
In 2015, the company began to expand into Canada.[13] In partnership with Alshaya, the company opened locations in the Middle East in 2018.[14][15]
In 2024, the company announced its plans to move its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia to support future expansion plans.[16]
