Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza Announces Grand Opening of New San Jose Restaurant
Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza announced today that it will open its second South Bay area restaurant, in San Jose, on Wednesday, April 1st.
Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza announced today that it will open its second South Bay area restaurant, in San Jose, on Wednesday, April 1st. To celebrate the grand opening, the restaurant will offer FREE build-your-own artisanal pizzas on Friday, April 3rd, from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. to anyone who follows Blaze Pizza on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. The fast-casual concept, known for its chef-driven menu and casually hip restaurants, will be located in San Jose’s Almaden Plaza at 5353 Almaden Expressway, next to Boudin Bakery.
Blaze Pizza is a modern day “pizza joint” known for its custom-built artisanal pizzas, freshly made salads, blood orange lemonade and s’more pies. Each restaurant features an interactive assembly-line format that allows guests to customize one of the menu’s signature pizzas or create their own, choosing from a wide selection of fresh, artisanal ingredients — all for under $8. The generously-sized 11-inch 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 and ready to eat in just 180 seconds. Each restaurant makes its own dough from scratch using a recipe developed by critically-acclaimed 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. The new San Jose restaurant will also feature a selection of wine and craft beer.
“We’re changing the way people think about and eat pizza,” said Jim Mizes, president & COO of Blaze Pizza. “Blaze provides all the options pizza lovers want, but without the wait, making delicious pizza that’s convenient too.”
Blaze Pizza launched in Northern California last June, and its Fremont restaurant (43831 Pacific Commons Boulevard) has quickly become a neighborhood favorite. Two additional NorCal locations, Gold River’s Town Centre (2137 Golden Centre Lane) and the Highland Reserve Shopping Center in Roseville (10325 Fairway Drive), opened concurrently in December 2014. Last week, Blaze added a San Francisco location at Stonestown Galleria (157 Stonestown Galleria). In April, Blaze will fire up in Davis (212 F Street) to serve UC-Davis and the local community, followed by the Tracy location, set to open in June at West Grant Line Road.
The first Blaze Pizza® restaurant opened on August 6, 2012 in Irvine, CA, and quickly gained attention for its chef-driven recipes and “build-your-own pizza” assembly-line format. Described by Zagat as “One of 10 Innovative Restaurants in Los Angeles,” Blaze Pizza is developing a cult following as it expands across the U.S. The company currently operates restaurants in 15 states and the District of Columbia, including the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco 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.