Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza Named America's Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain by Technomic

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 11, 2016) - Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza, the nation's leading fast-casual artisanal pizza chain, today announced that it has been named the overall fastest growing U.S. restaurant chain in the 2016 Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. The build-your-own pizza concept, known for its chef-driven recipes and casually hip restaurants, secured the top spot by adding 55 locations and tripling sales to $101 million in the last year. According to Technomic, the company's 205 percent increase in sales over the prior year was the largest gain of any restaurant chain in their ranking.

"Today's break-out category with consumers is fast-casual, custom-built pizza," said Darren Tristano, president of market research firm Technomic. "Within this category, Technomic has identified Blaze Pizza as the fastest growing and largest brand. With a base of strong regional development partners, focus on quality ingredients and an engaged service format, Blaze Pizza is expected to lead industry growth for years to come."

Founded with two locations in 2012, Blaze Pizza now operates 130 restaurants in 26 states and two Canadian provinces. This year -- fueled by a growing national fan base and long lines at its restaurants -- the company will accelerate its expansion, opening an average of one new restaurant every four days. Major metropolitan areas now being developed include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Phoenix, Tampa, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Cleveland, Orlando, St. Louis, Nashville and Las Vegas.

"We're taking pizza back to its roots -- making dough in-house, carefully sourcing ingredients, and cooking by fire," said Jim Mizes, president and COO of Blaze Pizza. "The authenticity of our food, plus a service culture that genuinely focuses on the happiness of our guests and crew -- have clearly been key to our popularity and expansion."

Featuring a scratch-made dough recipe developed by critically-acclaimed Executive Chef Bradford Kent, the company maintains a "keep it simple" philosophy that shuns rapid-fire new product introductions and limited time offers, and instead focuses on carefully sourcing high-quality ingredients and cooking its fast-fire'd pizzas to order, to the delight of its food-centric fan base. Blaze's obsessive attention to detail extends well beyond the food, with a thoughtful, modern approach to restaurant design. Award-winning Los Angeles architect Ana Henton considers each interior, adding unique elements to localize each space and create the perfect vibe. Absent are promotional posters and signage, and all restaurants are constructed with both recycled and sustainable materials, use eco-friendly packaging and feature energy-efficient lighting.

About Blaze Pizza
Blaze Pizza is a modern day "pizza joint," serving up artisanal pizzas that are both fast and affordable. By taking pizza back to its roots -- making dough in-house, carefully sourcing ingredients, and cooking by fire -- the innovative fast-casual concept has quickly become one of the hottest restaurant concepts in the country, with fans lining up each day for their custom-built pizzas, freshly made salads, blood orange lemonade and s'more pies. Each restaurant features an interactive open-kitchen format that allows guests to customize one of the menu's signature pizzas or create their own, choosing from a wide selection of fresh, high-quality ingredients -- all for about $8. The generously-sized personal pizzas are then sent to a blazing hot open-flame oven -- the centerpiece of the restaurant -- where dedicated pizzasmiths ensure the thin-crust pies are fast-fire'd and ready to eat in just 180 seconds. Restaurants make fresh dough from scratch using a proprietary recipe developed by Executive Chef Bradford Kent (the "Pizza Whisperer"), which requires a 24-hour fermentation period to produce his signature light-as-air, crisp crust. For pizza fans with specific dietary needs, Blaze Pizza offers gluten-free dough and vegan cheese.

Now ranked as the overall #2 brand in the Fast Casual Top 100 (behind only Panera Bread), Blaze Pizza is building momentum and developing a cult-like following as it expands across the country. Founded by Elise and Rick Wetzel (co-founder of Wetzel's Pretzels), the concept is backed by investors including LeBron James, Maria Shriver, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner and movie producer John Davis. For more information, please visit www.blazepizza.com and www.facebook.com/blazepizza or click here to view a company video.

Blaze Pizza®, Fast-Fire'd®, the horizontal logo design, and the proprietary names "Pizzasmith," "Intelligent Choices For Our Pizzas, People & Planet" and related trademarks are the property of Blaze Pizza LLC.