Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza announced the opening of its newest location in Culver City, California, at the Culver Crossroads. To celebrate, the company is set to offer its custom built, fast-fire’d artisan pizzas free to Blaze Pizza’s Facebook fans on September 17, between 6 and 9 p.m.
Those who "like" the Blaze Pizza page on Facebook can print out a screen shot or present it on their mobile device to obtain their free pizza at the Culver City restaurant.
The new 35-seat restaurant, which features an expansive outdoor patio with additional seating for afternoon and evening dining, is located in the Culver Crossroads Center near Starbucks, Chipotle, and Pei Wei.
Blaze Pizza uses an assembly-line format that lets guests customize one of the menu’s signature pizzas or create one of their own, choosing from a wide selection of fresh, artisanal toppings, all for about $7.
The personal pizzas are then sent to a blazing-hot, open-hearth oven—the centerpiece of the restaurant—where dedicated “pizzasmiths” ensure that the thin-crust pies are “fast-fire’d” in less than 180 seconds.
The company teamed up with executive chef Bradford Kent, owner of Los Angeles' top-rated Olio Pizzeria & Cafe (Zagat's No. 2 pizza in Los Angeles).
Blaze Pizza makes its own dough from scratch using a recipe developed by Kent, which requires a 24-hour fermentation period to produce his signature light-as-air, crisp crust.
The restaurant uses fresh ingredients ranging from inventive to classic, and its menu also features signature salads, fresh lemonades, craft beer and wine, and house-made S’more Pies.
For pizza fans with specific dietary needs, Blaze Pizza offers gluten-free dough and vegan cheese. The restaurant will offer online ordering as well.
“Blaze Pizza is all about letting folks build pizzas any way they want with our ingredients and crust. It’s a concept I’m thrilled to lend my expertise to,” Kent says.
To create its “comfortably hip” interior and exterior, Blaze Pizza teamed with principal designer Ana Henton of Los Angeles’ MASS Architecture and Design (Intellegentsia, Lukshon, Breadbar).
Designed to be both casual and current, Henton used urban architectural notes inspired by fire and foundries. Additionally, the restaurant has gone to great lengths to see that its packaging is eco-friendly and made in the USA from post-consumer recycled and/or sustainable materials.
Blaze Pizza in Culver City is looking forward to building strong roots with members of the local community. To that end, the company has developed a turn-key, in-restaurant fundraiser program that returns 20 percent of an event’s proceeds back to local organizations, and hopes to partner with local schools, sports clubs, and other local organizations to host fundraising events at the new restaurant.
The Culver City Blaze Pizza will be operated by Culver City BP, LLC, a franchise group led by Peter Korral and Daniel Driz.