Blaze Pizza is an

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

–based

fast-casual A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, is a restaurant that does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is a ...

pizza

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

. Founded in 2011 by Elise and Rick Wetzel of

Wetzel's Pretzels Wetzel's Pretzels is an American chain of fast-food restaurants, specializing in pretzels and hot dogs. The chain has more than 370 locations across the United States, Canada and Central America, as well as formerly in Finland, mostly located i ...

, the chain is known for serving made-to-order pizzas.

History

Blaze Pizza was founded in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, by Rick and Elise Wetzel in 2011. The chain's first location was opened in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

, in August 2012, which was followed two months later by the opening of their second, and

flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

, location in October 2012 in Pasadena. 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 Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ( ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American multinational chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of March 31, 2025, C ...

and Subway. The pizzas are cooked in a high-temperature open-flame oven with an average cook time of three minutes. The only piece of cooking equipment inside each of the restaurants is an oven. By the end of 2014, Blaze had become the first fast-casual pizza restaurant to achieve 50 opened units. The company planned to have at least 500 locations by 2020. In 2015, the company began to expand into Canada. In partnership with Alshaya, the company opened locations in the Middle East in 2018. In 2024, the company announced its plans to move its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia to support future expansion plans.

References

External links

* {{portalbar, Companies, Food, United States 2011 establishments in California American companies established in 2011 Companies based in Pasadena, California Fast casual restaurants Fast-food chains of the United States Pizza chains of the United States Pizza franchises Restaurants established in 2011