Nation’s Restaurant News: MOD, Blaze Emerge as Fast-Casual Pizza Leaders

The competition is heating up in the fast-casual pizza space, but a few chains are standing out from the pack. According to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article , MOD Pizza and Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza both reported sales in excess of $270 million in the 2017 fiscal year.

With 110 openings last year alone, MOD Pizza now stands at 302 locations total while same-store sales increased by 5.2 percent. CEO Scott Svenson credits the brand’s success to its community involvement and its drive to make a positive social impact. In 2017, the company donated more than $1 million to local communities and employees and franchisees donated more than $364,000 to hunger relief.

Although Blaze Pizza was founded later than MOD by Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founders Elise and Rick Wetzel, the chain is larger in terms of sales by 1.4 percent. It also has fewer total locations at 252 restaurants. But both chains have received outside investments to continue to grow the brand throughout the country.