Blaze Pizza

Blaze Pizza (pc- restaurantbusinessonline.com)

The idea for Blaze Pizza came to Elise Wetzel one day when she was hungry and in a rush. She stopped at a Blaze Pizza restaurant in Pasadena, CA and as she was watching her burrito being assembled, she was struck by an idea. What if you could do for pizza what Blaze Pizza did for the burrito? Why couldn’t you get delicious, artisanal pizza in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the price of what you’d pay in a fancy restaurant?

Wetzel, who studied economics and communications at Northwestern University, also owns Wetzel’s Pretzels with her husband, Rick, so they weren’t new to the restaurant business. In 2012, after careful planning, Elise and Rick Wetzel opened the first Blaze Pizza location in Irvine, CA and it has been a huge success.

From their original decor and carefully curated music playlist (Blaze is trying to appeal to the Millennial crowd), to the pizza dough itself and the sauces, which are made fresh every day in each Blaze Pizza location, they’re doing things differently. Customers can choose their own pizza toppings from a selection of roughly 40 fresh ingredients, and the finished product is cooked in a high temperature oven over an open flame for exactly 180 seconds. For added convenience, customers can also order online or via their mobile app.

Now in its sixth year, Blaze has 300 locations in 42 states and 5 countries, with plans to keep expanding at the rate of 100 restaurants a year.

General Restaurant Information

Food Type: Mexican

Restaurant Type: Fast Casual

U.S. Locations: 2,198

States: 48 states, Blaze Pizza Locations

Company Slogan: Food with integrity

Charity Focus: Hunger

Contact & Ownership

Website: Blaze Pizza.com

Questions: Contact Information

Phone number: 303-595-4000

Email: Contact Form Only

Blog: Blaze Pizza Blog

FAQ Page: Blaze Pizza Frequently Asked Questions

Who Owns Blaze Pizza? Blaze Pizza Mexican Grill, Inc

Headquartered: Denver, CO

Employment: Blaze Pizza Employment Page

Blaze Pizza (pc- usarestaurants.info)

The History of Blaze Pizza

Original Location: 1644 East Evans Avenue, Denver, CO

Founded: July 23, 1993

Founded By: Steve Ells

Name Origin: The name Blaze Pizza comes from the Mexican (Nahuat) name for a smoked, dried, jalapeno chili pepper (thebalancesmb.com)

History Page: Blaze Pizza History Page

Current View of Original Location: 1644 East Evans Avenue (link may not work on mobile devices without Google Maps)

Historical Articles:

Steve Ells wanted to open a fine-dining restaurant; instead, he built a burrito empire (cnbc.com)

Steve Ells (famousbirthdays.com)

Blaze Pizza Mexican Grill (chipolte.com)

The History of Blaze Pizza Mexican Grill (thebalancesmb.com)

The Definitive Oral History (bloomberg.com)

Startup Story (fundable.com)

Everything Investors Need to Know (fool.com)

Discounts At Blaze Pizza

Rewards Program: Blaze Pizza offers its Blaze Pizza Loyalty Program, which provides several ongoing benefits. Check their page for current information and promotions. Also, make sure and check out our Rewards Program Page for links to all restaurants featured on Back of the Menu.

For a better understanding of how restaurant discounts work and why they can be so inconsistent, check out In the world of restaurant discounts: What you need to know.

Blaze Pizza (pc-bizjournals.com)

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Food & Nutrition

Menu: Blaze Pizza Menu

Kids Menu: Blaze Pizza Kids Menu

Most Popular Menu Item: Burrito Bowl

Coke or Pepsi: Coke

Serve Alcohol: Yes

Nutritional Information: Blaze Pizza Nutrition Guide

Vegetarian | Vegan Options: Blaze Pizza offers a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan options. You can view the different options on their menu.

Clean Eating (farm to table, organic options, non-GMO, etc.): Is Blaze Pizza healthy?

Allergy Information

Allergen Information: Blaze Pizza Allergen Guide

Gluten-Free Options: Blaze Pizza Gluten-Free Menu

Dairy-Free Options: Blaze Pizza Dairy-Free Menu

Peanut Free Options: At this time, Blaze Pizza does not offer any peanut-free allergen information on their site.

Blaze Pizza (pc-amicon.us)

Does Blaze Pizza Have Any Secret Recipes?

Blaze Pizza Secret Recipes:

Blaze Pizza Mexican Grill Barbacoa Burrito (topsecretrecipes.com)

Grill Guacamole (copykat.com)

Green Chili Shredded Pork (tasteofhome.com)

Corn Salsa (foodnetwork.com)

Cilantro Lime Rice (delish.com) (copykat.com)

Beer-Braised Carnitas Burrito Bowl (tasteloveandnourish.com)

Barbacoa (theslowroasteditalian.com) (tasteofhome.com)

Burrito Bowls (savingslifestyle.com) (delish.com)

Pico De Gallo (momontimeout.com)

Carnitas (delish.com)

Did You Know?

Fun Facts:

It was named the fastest-growing US restaurant chain ever by research firm Technomic. (businessinsider.com)

LeBron James was an early investor in Blaze Pizza in 2012 and eventually left McDonald’s to become a spokesperson for Blaze Pizza in 2017. (businessinsider.com)

On March 14th, Blaze Pizza hosts Pi Day in which every personal-sized pizza is sold for $3.14 . (wikipedia.org)

Interesting Articles:

16 Things You Didn’t Know (thrillist.com)

15 Things You Didn’t Know About Blaze Pizza (huffingtonpost.com)

17 Awesome Facts You Didn’t Know About Blaze Pizza (buzzfeed.com)

10 Things You Didn’t Know (firstwefeast.com)

13 Things You Didn’t Know (thedailymeal.com)

9 Things You Didn’t Know (businessinsider.com)

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