Around Town

Blaze Pizza celebrates opening with free pizza The new restaurant will offer free pizzas to those who check in on social media on Saturday, March 26.

Blaze Pizza will offer free pizzas to those who check in on social media all day long on Saturday, March 26.

Lafayette is heating up with the opening of Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza this weekend. The fast-casual artisanal pizza concept known for its chef-driven menu and casually hip restaurants will officially open its doors in Lafayette's new Ambassador Town Center on Friday, March 25.

To celebrate the grand opening, the restaurant will offer free build-your-own artisanal pizzas on Saturday, March 26, from 10:30 a.m - 11 p.m. to anyone who follows Blaze on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Snapchat. During the "Free Pizza Day" celebration, guests will enjoy prize giveaways and musical entertainment by Casey Courville from 12-2 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. and Rareluth from 6-8 p.m.

Blaze Pizza is a modern day "pizza joint" serving up high-quality pizzas that are both fast and affordable. Each restaurant features an interactive open-kitchen format that allows guests to customize one of the menu's signature pizzas or create their own, choosing from a wide variety of artisanal toppings — all for around $8.

The generously-sized 11-inch personal pizzas are then sent to a blazing hot open-flame oven — the centerpiece of the restaurant — where dedicated pizzasmiths ensure that the thin-crust pies are fast-fire'd and ready to eat in just 180 seconds.

Each Blaze restaurant makes its own pizza dough from scratch daily, which requires a 24-hour fermentation period to produce the signature light-as-air, crisp crust. For pizza fans with specific dietary needs, Blaze Pizza offers gluten-free dough and vegan cheese. Blaze Lafayette will also feature specialty toppings such as alligator sausage and a muffuletta spread.

Blaze will offer local craft beers on tap, including Saison D'Ecrevisses, LA-31 Biere Pale and Ragin' Cajuns™ Ale from Bayou Teche Brewing and Canebrake and Ghost in the Machine from Parish Brewing Company.

Blaze Pizza will be open Sunday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. in the Ambassador Town Center (near Costco), located at 111 Meadow Farm Road., Suite 100, in Lafayette.