Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza Announces Grand Opening of Second Long Island Restaurant

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 12, 2015) - Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza, the nation's leading build-your-own pizza chain, announced today that it will open its second Long Island location, at Westfield's South Shore Mall (1701 Sunrise Highway) on Thursday, January 15th. To celebrate the grand opening, the restaurant will offer FREE build-your-own artisanal pizzas on Friday, January 16^th from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 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 at the mall's main entrance, near JCPenney.

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 Westfield South Shore restaurant will also feature a selection of wine and craft beer.

Dedicated to the simple idea of making artisanal pizzas both fast and affordable, Blaze Pizza is quickly becoming a national brand, with individual locations serving upwards of 800 -- 1,000+ built-to-order artisanal pizzas on a busy day. "The Blaze concept fits perfectly with the New York pace of life, as we offer guests custom-built artisanal pizzas cooked in the time it usually takes to reheat a slice," said Jim Mizes, president & COO of Blaze Pizza. "New Yorkers know great pizza, and we're looking forward to playing a role in adding to this city's reputation for being a great pizza destination."

New York residents have been enjoying Blaze Pizza since it opened its first area location in West Babylon's Great Bay Shopping Center (1047 West Montauk Highway) this past July.

Blaze Pizza is looking forward to continuing to build strong roots within the community. To that end, the company has developed a turn-key in-restaurant fundraiser program that returns 20% of an event's proceeds back to local organizations, and will be partnering with local schools, sports clubs and other organizations to host fundraising events at the new restaurant.

The restaurant will be operated by Lessing's Franchise Group, Inc., a franchise group led by Michael and Mark Lessing. Lessing's Hospitality Group is one of New York's leading restaurant and catering companies. Their full-service restaurants include four-star Mirabelle, the waterfront View Restaurant, and trademark "Main Street" locations including Post Office Café, Maxwell's, Library Café and Finnegan's.

About Blaze Pizza
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. For more information, please visit blazepizza.com and facebook.com/blazepizza.