Blaze Pizza Chain relocates headquarters from California to Georgia

A well-known pizza chain is relocating its headquarters from California to Georgia, likely due to lower operating costs.

The company, Blaze Pizza, based in Pasadena, announced that it intends to complete the move by September.

“Atlanta will become the central hub for the company’s operations, business development, marketing, finance, HR, and other departments,” stated Blaze Pizza, as reported by ABC7.com.

With over 300 Blaze Pizza restaurants in 39 states, a third of them being in California where it was founded in 2011, the move comes after a 2022 Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey revealed that Los Angeles County was the most expensive place in Southern California to operate a business.

“California is where this brand originated over a decade ago, and we have a strong connection to the communities in the state where many of our restaurants are located. Relocating our corporate headquarters to Atlanta will help us drive our next phase of growth,” said Beto Guajardo, CEO of Blaze Pizza, as reported by the outlet.

Blaze Pizza operates similar to a sandwich shop, allowing customers to choose the toppings for their pizzas, which are then prepared by workers, according to KTLA.com.

This decision comes amidst other chains in California closing down locations due to a minimum wage controversy, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Since the minimum wage law went into effect on April 1, nearly 10,000 positions have been eliminated across chains like Pizza Hut and Burger King, as per a trade group report.

When Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the minimum wage law in 2023, he noted that it aimed to establish fairer wages, safer working conditions, and better training for fast food workers.

However, critics warned that the wage hike could lead to workers being replaced by self-checkouts and “robot cooks,” as per the Daily Mail.