Most traditional pizza chains are dinner operations since consumers view them as taking too much time for lunch hour, but Blaze’s speediness has helped it ace lunch, which accounts for half its volume. Also thriving is its dine-in business, with about 70 percent of Blaze pizza consumed in its restaurants, roughly the inverse of pizza chains, which box about 85 percent of their pies for take-out and delivery.
Pieology Pizzeria, a self-described “pie-oneer” in the customized pizza segment founded in 2011, grew from 15 units in 2013 to 62 today, with projections to grow to 110 by year’s end.
Founder Carl Chang said that in an era of Iron Chef, we have come to see food preparation as a form of performance—in which case the sneeze guard is just another screen for content.
“Many people like me are Food Network fans, and they love being exposed to how our food is prepared and our technique,” said Chang.
Other build-your-own pizza chains on the rise include PizzaRev, Pie Five Pizza Co. and MOD Pizza.
Darren Tristano, evp of Technomic, said customization has come a long way since a certain sandwich shop championed it.
“Subway introduced it, Chipotle perfected it, and pizza restaurants like Blaze are really evolving it,” said Tristano. “The new evolution is not just assemble—it’s assemble and cook to order.”
Chris Arnold, communications director for Chipotle, says many miss the point when they evoke the brand.
“A whole lot of restaurants position themselves as the Chipotle of ‘X,’ like the ‘Chipotle of Mediterranean’ or the ‘Chipotle of burgers,'” Arnold said. “What they tend to mimic more than anything else is the service format and the price point, but that’s not what really makes Chipotle work. What makes Chipotle work is finding the very best ingredients, preparation and a culture that allows our employees to create real, meaningful careers.”