Blaze Pizza is the latest restaurant company to relocate its headquarters to Atlanta. The company, currently based in Pasadena, California, plans the move to be completed by early September, with Atlanta serving as the base for operations, business development, marketing, finance, HR, and other departments.
A majority of Blaze’s 60 corporate employees will remain remote, with a small percentage of employees being offered relocation opportunities to Atlanta. The 7,500-plus restaurant-level employees at the company’s nearly 300 locations will not be affected by the move.
In a statement, CEO Beta Guajardo said, “California is where this brand was born more than a decade ago, and we have tremendous heart for communities across the state where so many of our restaurants are. Moving our corporate headquarters to Atlanta will help us drive our next wave of growth.”
Blaze Pizza was founded in Pasadena in 2011 by Rick and Elise Wetzel, founders of Wetzel’s Pretzels. According to Technomic Ignite, Los Angeles and Riverside, California, are its two biggest markets, while 93 units are located in the state.
This announcement comes on the heels of Blaze’s news that it is rolling out the “most significant menu revamp in its history.” The menu includes new premium pizza toppings, snack items, salads and a new dessert line. The company also recently bolstered its leadership team with a new chief development officer and a new chief operations officer.
These efforts come as Blaze attempts to reignite its growth. The system started shrinking unit count five years ago and has shrunk by 4.5% in the past three years. It finished 2023 with seven less locations compared to 2022, according to Technomic.
With this move, Blaze joins Papa Johns, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, and Smalls Sliders in their headquarters relocation to Atlanta. At the time of Smalls Sliders’ relocation, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, CEO Maria Rivera said Atlanta provides access to more resources and talent to support growth.
According to Precision Global Consulting, Atlanta is the third most popular city in the U.S. for Fortune 500 companies, behind just Houston and New York. Georgia is typically considered a business-friendly state and, in 2019, it reduced the corporate income tax rate from 6% to 5.75%.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
