Brentwood Associates, a leading consumer-focused private equity investment firm, announced that it has made a significant non-controlling investment in Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza. Blaze Pizza is the nation’s leading fast-casual pizza chain with more 200 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company is led by CEO Jim Mizes, who has been with Blaze Pizza since 2013 and will continue to lead the business going forward.
Concurrent with the transaction, Blaze Pizza has added Bill Barnum, Rahul Aggarwal, and Greg Dollarhyde to its board of directors. Barnum is cofounder and partner at Brentwood, and Aggarwal is a partner at Brentwood. Blaze represents the sixth investment in the restaurant industry for Brentwood, including three currently owned California-based concepts Lazy Dog Restaurants, Pacific Catch, and Veggie Grill. They are joined on the board by Dollarhyde, a fast-casual industry veteran who has served as the chairman or CEO of eight different companies, including former Brentwood portfolio company Zoës Kitchen. Dollarhyde also invested in the transaction alongside Brentwood through Dollarhyde Investment Group IV.
The company also announced that Paul Wachter is serving as a board observer. Wachter is the founder and CEO of financial and asset management firm Main Street Advisors in Los Angeles. Wachter manages one of Blaze Pizza’s largest shareholder groups that includes LeBron James, Maria Shriver, Tom Werner, Maverick Carter, and himself. He currently serves on the board of directors of Time Warner and, until recently, the board of directors of Virgin America and the board of regents of the University of California. He previously was on the board of Beats Electronics and Beats Music from the inception of the companies until their purchase by Apple in 2014.
The first Blaze Pizza opened on August 6, 2012, in Irvine, California, less than five years ago, and quickly gained attention for its chef-driven recipes, thoughtful interior design, and a service culture that celebrates individuality. With its newly announced expansion into the Middle East and Northern Africa, Blaze Pizza is on pace to exceed $1 billion in annual system-wide sales before its 10th birthday in 2022.
Rahul Aggarwal, partner at Brentwood, says, “The Blaze team has done an amazing job growing to 200 restaurants in under five years. They have built a scalable concept with moats around their critically acclaimed chef, high-quality clean ingredients and aggressive brand building strategies. We are excited to join the company and can’t think of a better way to kick off investing our new fund.”
“We are excited to add Brentwood and Dollarhyde to our investor group as they bring leadership, a network of connections and deep restaurant experience that will simply make us stronger and better,” says Jim Mizes, CEO of Blaze Pizza. “As we transition from an emerging brand to an international high growth brand, I know Brentwood and our new board will help us build value for our shareholders, brand awareness across the globe, and a great workplace for our team members and our franchisees.”
Blaze Pizza was advised by North Point Advisors LLC and its legal counsel was Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Brentwood was represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
