News

Blaze Pizza preps 150th location, on target to hit 500 by 2019

June 28, 2016

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza is living up to its name as it's on pace to open its 500th location in three years time — which equates to an average of one new restaurant every four days. This week, the chain is opening its 150th restaurant next month in Houston, its fourth location in Texas. It's also opening soon in the Virginia college town of Lynchburg, which sits squarely in the middle of four campuses on Wards Road. 

With restaurants in 31 states and development underway in 48 of the top 50 U.S. markets, Blaze Pizza's expansion is primarily focused on building brand presence in existing markets, according to a news release. 

The brand leads in average unit volumes when compared to similar competitors, according to a press release. For instance, MOD pizza reported $1,224,236 in average unit volumes for company-owned units open more than a year, compared to Blaze Pizza's $1,888,354. In comparing number for units open more than two years, Blaze Pizza reported $2,567,243 for company-owned restaurants and $1,533,768 for franchised locations. That compares with Pieology, which reported $1,874,304 for company-owned and $1,352,932 for franchised locations, according to the release. 

Earlier this year,Blaze Pizza was ranked the leading fast casual pizza chain in the 2016 Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. The company secured the top spot by tripling sales to $100.6 million in the last year. According to Technomic, Blaze Pizza was also the category's top sales growth leader, adding $67.6 million in sales over the prior year.