Build-your-own Blaze Pizza coming to Santa Ana’s Westfield MainPlace Mall!

Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza Expanding Across Orange County, CA

Build-Your-Own Pizza Chain Coming Soon To Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, La Habra, Santa Ana, Brea and Newport Beach

May 13, 2014 – Los Angeles, California – Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, the leader in the fast casual build-your-own artisanal pizza category, today announced that it will soon open six new locations in Orange County, CA. This summer, sites will open in the Shops at Mission Viejo (in the mall’s high-traffic food court), Laguna Niguel’s Plaza De La Paz Shopping Center (27231 La Paz Road), and La Habra’s Westridge Plaza (1360 S. Beach Blvd). In early fall, Blaze Pizza will open in Westfield’s Mainplace Mall in Santa Ana. Additional Orange County locations including restaurants in Brea and Newport Beach will be announced soon.

Blaze Pizza uses an interactive ordering format that allows guests to customize one of the menu’s signature pizzas or create one of their own, choosing from a wide selection of fresh, artisanal ingredients – all for under $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 that the thin-crust pies are “fast-fire’d” in less than 180 seconds. Each restaurant 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. The restaurant’s menu of pizzas and salads uses fresh ingredients ranging from inventive to classic and accommodates a range of dietary needs, with a gluten-free dough and vegan cheese option.

Described by Zagat as “One of 10 Innovative Restaurants in LA,” Blaze Pizza has developed a strong following in Southern California, and has recently opened locations in Culver City, Los Angeles’ Farmers Market, Pasadena, La Cañada, Torrance, Isla Vista, Cabazon and Carlsbad. The first Blaze Pizza opened in Irvine in August of 2012, and has quickly become a favorite of both the local community and UCI students. The new Orange County Blaze Pizza restaurants are all owned and operated by experienced multi-unit franchisees.

About Blaze Pizza

Founded in 2011 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, and includes the talents of highly acclaimed Executive Chef Bradford Kent, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Blaze Pizza currently operates restaurants in Southern California, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Milwaukee and plans this year to expand into 20 new markets including San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas, Miami and Washington D.C. The company, which has been featured by MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Good Morning America, has a pipeline of more than 260 restaurants being developed by 25 seasoned multi-unit franchisees. For more information, please visit www.blazepizza.com or www.facebook.com/blazepizza.

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