Blaze Pizza Opens Second Twin Cities Location
From Punch to Pieology to Pizza Studio, the world of quick fire pizza is rapidly expanding in Minnesota.
And now, pie lovers will have another place to enjoy a slice.
Blaze Pizza opened its second Minnesota location in Minneapolis' Dinkytown Thursday.
The fast-casual pizza place, backed by basketball star LeBron James, opened its first Minnesota location St. Louis Park near Knollwood Mall in June.
But before that location even opened, owners had their eye on the University of Minnesota.
"It's the perfect location to get our name out there," Operating Partner John Tyler said. "There's ample amount of students."
Plans for the Los-Angeles chain to make it's way to Minnesota begin in early 2015, and building on the Dinkytown location began just two months ago. The restaurant then opened for a test run Wednesday.
Each visit, patrons get the choice of a signature pie or creating their own. Each pizza is a generously sized personal-pan.
The dough is an original recipe from Blaze's executive chef Bradford Kent. After it's cooked, guests decide if they want a signature recipe, such as the Veg Out or Meat Eater, or if they want to create their own recipe.
The best seller varies by location, by Tyler said so far in Minnesota the Barbecue Chicken and White Top have been the best seller.
The Barbecue Chicken is covered in mozzarella, gorgonzola, barbecue chicken, red onion and banana peppers. Its finished with a barbecue sauce drizzle.
The White Top features the white garlic sauce, mozzarella, bacon, chopped garlic, oregano and arugula. It's also Tyler's favorite.
The 2,600 square-foot space seats 60 and is constructed using environmentally friendly materials. In addition, each franchise works to give 20 percent back to the community through donates to local charities.
To celebrate the opening of the second location, the U of M location is offering a free build-your-own pizza from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday to anyone who likes, or follows, Blaze Pizza on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Blaze Pizza Minneapolis is located at 1000 Washington Ave. S.E. in Dinktyown. The restaurant is open from 11 .m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information call 612-379-1723, or visit Blaze Pizza online.
