I had never heard of it until Cramer had the founder on, ....the guy that founded Wetzels pretzels. So today, I happened to be in a college town where one is located. Being the quintessential student of Peter Lynch... I had to check it out. It was awesome. For real. I can't say enough. $7.50 for as many toppings as you want (and they had yuppi stuff I had never even heard of lol) on made fresh daily dough and sauce with cheese that is cheese like cheese should be cheese. And it was quick. Frigging EXCELLENT. Back in the day, I walked into one of the first 50 CMG's and was blown away. The next time I went back I inquired about franchising and whether or not it was publicly traded. That was probably about 3 or 4 years prior to the IPO (after MCD had bought in and then spun off). When they IPO'd I got in at $42 ish,... it went down to $38... and I bailed in the $60's... this was before I was an ADHD trader and more of a granny style participant in the market. The point is... Blaze has this potential. There are a lot of CMG type knockoffs in several food categories. Sushi (Fusion), Spaghetti (Piada's), etc... just to name a few. They're OK....but this is pizza. And they are doing it right. This one is going to be big. I chatted up the manager and he was telling me all week long they are busy from open to close. Albeit it was a prime location for millennial foot traffic. Employee moral was excellent... as was the ambiance. Very cool. Growth plans are for 1000 stores buy 2020. Early investors include LeBron James, Maria Shriver, and Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner. I think LeBron bought the franchise rights to Chicago and Miami. So if you have one where you live, go check em out and see what you think. When they IPO, I'm getting in. I think it'll be very hyped and pricey though. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-blaze-pizza-20160725-snap-story.html (NOTE: this Bloomberg article was written when they had 2 locations... now at 135) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...line-pizza-draws-hungry-fast-casual-investors
Those chipotle model style pizza joints are popping up everywhere. I WOULD SHORT the concept as the pizza itself has a strange taste due to the super hot ovens and rapid cooking. it looks good and sounds good, but consumers grow sick of it after 2-3 visits and return to traditional pies.
That was my exact experience with Pie 5 Pizza. I went a few times and then got sick of it. However, if the price point ever comes into range of Little Caesars then look out.
Same store revenues increased 7% in 2015. Traditional pies? Not sure what that means. "Strange"? I was with 5 other people, all millennials and X'rs, ... no mention of strange.... but they all bought one to go for the road. Hey I only report what I see. And for me at least... it was some good pizza.