At Blaze Pizza, ovens reach temperatures of nearly 900 degrees Fahrenheit. And in roughly three minutes, customers are served a personal-size pizza.

The restaurant is expected to open a location in Syracuse sometime this January, said Michael Hoover, Blaze Pizza’s project manager. It will be right behind Marshall Street at 727 South Crouse Ave., in The Marshall apartment complex.

“We’re really excited to be a part of the community and the college campus,” Hoover said.

The Syracuse location will be one of a handful of shops in New York state, with previously opened establishments in Albany and Schenectady, as well a recent addition in Amherst, near Buffalo. There are also planned openings in other cities in upstate New York, including Buffalo and Vestal. Blaze Pizza opened in 2012 in Irvine, California. Today there are more than 200 locations in 32 states.

The food chain was founded six years ago in Southern California as a cheap, high-quality alternative to standard pizza fare. NBA player LeBron James invested $1 million into the company, since earning a $35 million profit, helping turn it into the fastest growing U.S. food chain of all time, according to Forbes.

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Customers can customize their pizza and choose from about 40 toppings and ingredients. Prices range between $5 and $9, including tax. The shop also offers in-store pickup and online ordering through their website, or their app.

Dough is made in house every day from scratch using filtered water, unbleached flour, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and “a touch of sugar.” There are also options for gluten-free and vegan pizza, made with a soy-free vegan cheese substitute.

“It’s important to us that we can tailor to our customers and our guests really appreciate the vegan and gluten options that we have made a point to incorporate,” Hoover said.

Despite its name, Blaze Pizza offers other options including salads, such as the classic caesar or an arugula and fresh fruit salad. There are also desserts like the s’mores pie, a sea salt cookie and an olive oil brownie.

“We like that our guests can see their food being cooked in front of them due to our totally open kitchen and that they have a lot of options to build their perfect pizza, whatever that may be,” Hoover said.

Published on September 3, 2018 at 9:53 pm

Contact Leah: ltoney@syr.edu