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Blaze Pizza was founded in Pasadena, California, in 2011 by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Rick and Elise Wetzel , who had previously built Wetzel’s Pretzels. The idea took shape when the Wetzels went looking for a quick pizza lunch but ended up at Chipotle, where its assembly-line approach inspired them to consider how a similar made-to-order model could work for pizza. They developed Blaze Pizza around customizable pizzas that could be prepared quickly in a fast-casual setting, with the goal of filling what they saw as a gap between traditional sit-down pizzerias and conventional takeout chains.

Blaze Pizza began offering franchises in May 2012, shortly before its first restaurants opened in Southern California later that year.

Mission: Blaze Pizza's core mission is to build a place where people can enjoy fast, fire-cooked, custom-built pizza without compromising on quality or experience

Vision: Blaze Pizza was born from a simple idea: build a place where people could enjoy fast, fire-cooked, custom-built pizza without compromising on quality or experience.

Blaze Pizza cooks its artisan pizzas in a blazing-hot oven in about 180 seconds, giving guests a made-to-order pizza without a long wait.

• Build-own Customization: Guests can create their own 11-inch pizza with their choice of toppings, giving them control over what goes on their pizza.
• Plenty of Choices: The 11-inch pizza menu includes four crust options and more than 35 fresh toppings, along with signature recipes for guests who would rather leave the combinations to Blaze.
• Fresh, Artisan Ingredients: Blaze emphasizes fresh, artisanal ingredients and made-from-scratch dough as central parts of the guest experience.
• More Than Personal Pizzas: In addition to its signature 11-inch pizzas, Blaze offers large pizzas, salads, cheesy breads, desserts, kids meals and beverages, giving guests options for different occasions and group sizes.

The estimated initial investment to open a single Blaze Pizza restaurant ranges from $757,000 to $1,297,100. The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) breaks the costs down as follows:

• Initial Franchise Fee: The initial franchise fee is $30,000, payable in a lump sum when the franchisee signs each franchise agreement, and it is not refundable.
• Ongoing Fees: According to the 2026 FDD, Blaze Pizza franchisees are responsible for the following recurring payments:

Blaze Pizza supports franchisees through the site review and development process before opening. While franchisees are responsible for identifying potential locations, the brand evaluates proposed sites based on factors such as traffic patterns, parking, visibility, demographics and surrounding businesses. Once a site is accepted, Blaze reviews the lease for required provisions, provides design and layout specifications and supplies a preliminary restaurant layout at no additional cost.

Blaze Pizza provides franchisees and their management teams with training before opening, including instruction on brand standards, recipes, dough preparation, restaurant operations, inventory and cost management. The Blaze Standards Training Program includes 80 to 160 hours of in-restaurant training for the operating principal and up to three managers, along with other designated leadership roles.