JACKSONVILLE, FL--(Marketwired - Jun 4, 2015) - As summer rolls in and things heat up, Jacksonville now has one more thing to get fire'd up about -- Blaze Pizza! The nation's leading build-your-own pizza concept, today announced the opening of their first Jacksonville location at 840 Nautica Drive, in River City Marketplace near Panera Bread, Starbucks and Wal-Mart. To celebrate, the new fast-casual pizza restaurant is offering FREE customizable artisanal pizzas to anyone who follows Blaze Pizza on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, tomorrow (June 5) from 11:00am to 10:30pm.
Blaze Pizza is known for custom-built artisanal pizzas, freshly made salads, blood orange lemonade and s'more pies. Unlike traditional pizza chains, Blaze Pizza features an interactive assembly-line format that allows guests to create their own artisanal pizzas, choosing any toppings they like from a wide selection of house made sauces, fresh vegetables and hand-selected meats and cheeses -- all for under $8. The generously-sized 11-inch pizzas are then sent to the blazing hot oven where dedicated pizzasmiths ensure that the thin-crust pies are "fast-fire'd" and ready to eat in just 180 seconds.
The fast-casual concept, with its chef-driven menu and casually hip restaurants, has custom-built its newest location specifically to suit the 2700-square-foot space. The new restaurant will boast an industrial-inspired atmosphere with bold orange and red accents, an ode to the centerpiece of the restaurant -- the open-flame oven. The restaurant will offer seating for 75 inside with an additional 20 seats on an outdoor patio. The restaurant's menu also accommodates a range of dietary needs, by offering gluten-free dough and vegan cheese. The Jacksonville location will also offer a selection of wine and craft beer.
"Jacksonville is ready for a shake-up when it comes to convenient and delicious pizza," said Laurie Ruggles, Blaze Operating Partner in North Central Florida. "We're bringing back the classic 'pizza joint' with a modern, fresh, and fast twist. Blaze has all the options Jacksonville's pizza lovers want, but without the wait."
Blaze Pizza makes its own dough from scratch using a recipe developed by critically-acclaimed Executive Chef Brad Kent ("The Pizza Whisperer"), which requires a 24-hour fermentation period to produce his signature light-as-air, crisp crust. Florida residents have already been enjoying Blaze Pizza at the Boca Raton, Davie, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota and Gainesville locations. Additional restaurants in Orlando and Tallahassee are scheduled to open in 2015.
The Jacksonville Blaze Pizza is operated by The Millennial Restaurant Group (MRG), which plans to develop restaurants in Florida, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee. The partnership consists of James Patterson Sr., Jim Patterson II, Ulysses (Junior) Bridgeman, Wayne Albritton and Collins Cogan.
About Blaze Pizza
The first Blaze Pizza® restaurant opened on Aug. 6, 2012, in Irvine, Calif., and quickly gained attention for its chef-driven recipes and "build-your-own pizza" assembly-line format. Now ranked as the overall #2 fast-casual brand in FastCasual.com's annual Top 100 list, Blaze Pizza is building momentum and developing a cult following as it expands across the country. The company currently operates 68 restaurants in 18 states and the District of Columbia, including the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Washington D.C. Founded by Elise and Rick Wetzel (co-founder of Wetzel's Pretzels), the concept is backed by investors including LeBron James, Maria Shriver, Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner and movie producer John Davis.
Millennial Restaurant Group
10000 Shelbyville Rd.
Louisville, KY 40223
Blaze Pizza, LLC
35 N. Lake Ave, Suite 710
Pasadena, CA 91101
Contact Information:
Media Contact
Rachel Bledsoe
502.905.5170
