Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza, the nation’s leading build-your-own pizza chain, today announced that it will open its second Maryland location, at the University of Maryland, on Thursday, October 16th. To celebrate the grand opening, the College Park location will offer FREE build-your-own artisanal pizzas on Friday, October 17 between 11:00 a.m. and midnight 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, is located on the University of Maryland’s campus (7419 Baltimore Avenue), at the corner of Baltimore and College Avenues. Restaurant hours are 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Sunday – Thursday and 11:00 a.m. – midnight Friday and Saturday.
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.
“Our mission at Blaze is really simple – we’re all about bringing the community a place where guests can connect, create and enjoy great pizza at crazy fast speed,” said Jim Mizes, president & COO of Blaze Pizza. “If you think about it, there hasn’t been a good way to enjoy a made-from-scratch pizza without the wait. Now there is. We believe this will be a game-changer in town.”
Maryland residents have already been enjoying Blaze Pizza at the Montgomery Mall location (7101 Democracy Boulevard, Bethesda), which opened in August 2014. A third Maryland location is set to open this November at Laurel’s Town Centre, at 14703 Baltimore Avenue.
The Maryland Blaze Pizza locations will be operated by AMPAL Group, a franchise group led by franchisee Amit Patel.