Sarasota Blaze Pizza Opens for Business Today. Giving Away Free Pizza Tomorrow! Fast-Casual, Build-Your-Own Pizza Concept Opens at University Town Center in Sarasota, FL

Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza, the nation’s leading build-your-own pizza concept, today announced the opening of their first Sarasota location at 215 N. Cattleman Road, just off of Interstate 75 across from the University Town Center Mall, near Super Target and Panera Bread. To celebrate the grand opening, the new Sarasota location is offering FREE build-your-own artisanal pizzas tomorrow, January 30, from 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 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, has custom-built its newest location specifically to suit the 2,500-square-foot space, including seating for 60 inside and seats for an additional 45 guests on the outdoor patio.

Unlike traditional pizza chains, Blaze 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.

Blaze Pizza 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 also has gluten-free and vegan options and an assortment of wine and craft beers.

“Sarasota is a community known for its culture, art and scenery and Blaze couldn’t be more excited to now be a part of that,” said Dennis Sherer, Blaze Managing Partner in North Central Florida. “As a modern day pizza joint, Blaze provides a place where guests can connect, create and enjoy great pizza at a crazy fast speed.”

Florida residents have already been enjoying Blaze Pizza at the Ft. Lauderdale and Gainesville locations. Additional restaurants in Boca Raton, Davie, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tallahassee, are scheduled to open in 2015.

The Sarasota Blaze Pizza is operated by The Millennial Restaurant Group, which plans to develop restaurants in Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia. The partnership consists of James Patterson Sr., Jim Patterson II, Ulysses (Junior) Bridgeman, Wayne Albritton and Collins Cogan.

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 and Maria Shriver. For more information, please visit blazepizza.com and facebook.com/blazepizza.