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Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza delivered strong performance in 2015

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza President and COO Jim Mizes said the chain "delivered strong performance in 2015 by successfully executing on our growth strategy."

March 21, 2016

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza delivered strong performance in 2015, by successfully executing its growth strategy, President and COO Jim Mizes said in a company press release.

"This included improving our guest metrics while simultaneously growing our restaurant count by 110%, with 55 net new store openings. We also posted our third consecutive year of positive same store sales, with a 7.0 percent increase," he said.

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza announced highlights and financial results for its fiscal year ending Dec. 27, 2015, along with its outlook for 2016. The build-your-own pizza chain also announced that it has 116 restaurants open with an additional 96 locations secured and planned to open within the next 12 months. In five years, the company expects to be the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S., directly behind Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesars and Papa John's.

2015 highlights:

• Expanded to 25 states, Washington, D.C. and Canada. Major metropolitan areas now being developed include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, and Toronto.
• Achieved average unit volume of $1.37 million for the 50 restaurants open as of December 2014 (trailing 12-months sales as of December 2015).
• Grew system-wide sales to $101 million, an increase of 306 percent compared to $33 million in the prior year. The system-wide sales "run-rate" of the 116 restaurants currently open is forecast at nearly $160 million at the current average unit volumes.
• Grew overall guest satisfaction, including an increase of 0.1 to a system-wide average 4.3 rating on Yelp.
• Signed a multi-year endorsement deal with NBA All-Star LeBron James.
• Continued its "Intelligent Choices" commitment by changing to a plant-based straw so that all packaging is now 100-percent eco-friendly (recyclable, compostable or made from post-consumer content).
• Celebrated being named the fastest growing private company in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal.

2016 outlook:

• Expansion into 10 new states and the metropolitan areas of Boston, Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Atlanta.
• Introducing a new mobile app that supports online ordering, loyalty, mobile pay and social connectivity.
• Continuing its 'Intelligent Choices' commitment by announcing that every pizza and salad ingredient contains no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and fillers.
• Opening its new 5,000-square-foot flagship restaurant at Walt Disney World in Florida.