Fast-fire’d

Blaze Pizza location opens on Wards Road

Gourmet pizza ready in just 180 seconds – four different sauces, three different doughs, nine different cheeses, eight different meats and 24 different toppings to choose from.

These are the mouthwatering possibilities available at Blaze Pizza’s new location: 4026 Wards Road, Lynchburg, Virginia.

On Thursday, Oct. 20, the restaurant had its grand opening of the chain’s 159th location. The purpose of Blaze Pizza is to create “fast-fire’d” pizza in a casual environment.

“In three minutes you can get your pizza in and out to you to eat,” Operations Trainer Don Ash said. “You go down the line and employees build your artisanal pizza that you create yourself.”

Blaze Pizza began in 2012 in Irvine, California. Its vision is to have 1,000 restaurants open by 2022.

The local franchise is called “Blazing Virginia” and, according to Ash, they hope to have 20-30 restaurants open in the next five years.

Currently in Virginia there are shops running in Williamsburg and Lynchburg. A Richmond location will open in the next two weeks.

The company began thinking about opening a location in Lynchburg about two years ago.

Ash said this area was chosen because they had previous experience with restaurants in this community and knew it had a good market.

Ash and his staff agreed that Blaze Pizza differs from any other pizza shop in the area.

“It is the most amazing thing that I’ve ever been involved in in all my life,” Assistant General Manager Rich Kipp said.

“I’ve managed Applebee’s, Cracker Barrel and a 4-star restaurant in downtown Albany. This blows them all away. The energy is just something you can feel when you come through the door.”

Friday, Oct. 21 was the location’s Free Pizza Day. Customers who came into the shop and showed they “liked” Blaze Pizza on Facebook received a free pizza of their choice. The restaurant gave away a total of 1,415 pizzas.

“It’s part of the ‘Blaze vibe’ and a good way to get its name out and some excitement in the community,” Ash said. “If you’re giving away something free in a town, people hear about it and it gets the word out.”

Ash said both Blaze’s speed of service and value for its price are very rare. Pizza prices range from $5.50-$7.95 and include unlimited toppings.

In addition to pizza, Blaze also serves salads, drinks and their specialty dessert: S’more Pie.

A great amount of work went into the preparation of the new location.

The company had to gain location approval from Blaze corporate, negotiate leases with the shopping center owners, plan the opening management team, hire 50 associates and complete training.

Six experienced trainers from California were needed at the Lynchburg location during the first week to help manage the grand opening.

There are two basic positions in the restaurant: the “Pizza-olo,” an employee who comes in contact with customers and takes orders, and the “Pizza-smith,” who controls the 500-degree oven and fires the pizzas.

Another unique aspect about Blaze is its passion for helping others fundraise.

The company will work with non-profit or non-profit-affiliated groups to raise money for sicknesses, mission trips, church events, schools and athletic teams.

A group interested in fundraising through Blaze would pick a date to do so.

If someone ordered a pizza on that date and announced their support for the group when they paid, their order would go toward the cause.

“We donate 20 percent of all the proceeds that the fundraiser brings in,” Kipp said. “It’s one of the best fundraisers that I’ve ever seen out there, and I’ve been a restaurant manager for … close to 30 years. It’s amazing.”

Kipp described the first time he tasted the pizza, but determined that a person really just has to come try it for themselves.

“I wasn’t originally a thin-crust kind of guy, but I had this, and this is amazing,” Kipp said. “I’ve had pizza all up and down the East Coast, and this is hands down the best one.”

For more information, connect with Blaze Pizza on Facebook or visit their website at blazepizza.com.

Null is a feature reporter.