Last month Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza opened their second location in Brea at the Gateway shopping center located off of Brea Boulevard and Imperial Highway. It is the 20th store for this quickly growing franchise with a grand opening that included free pizzas to those who followed the restaurant on Instagram.

This casual eatery promises crispy thin crust pizzas topped with artisanal ingredients and served up in the lightning fast speed of 180 seconds. The interior is clean and modern with orange and black accents and wood and steel furnishing.

The menu is clear cut and affordable. Personal sized pizzas range from $5 for a simple pie to a classic cheese pizza. The build your own or Blaze’s signature pizzas are $7.95. Gluten-free dough and vegan cheese are available upon request.

Other offerings include freshly made side and entrée sized salads, s’more pies, which are marshmallows and melted chocolate sandwiched in between two cookies and a selection of alcoholic beverages all for reasonable prices.

Guests are greeted by a smiling face who asks for their name and what type of pizza they want. The blank canvas of a perfectly rounded 11-inch pizza dough is passed down the line on a wooden pizza peel and each member of the assembly line greets the guests by name while toppings are added to the dough.

As the cashier rings up the order, the pizza is slid into the oven. Minutes later the chef manning the oven yells “hot” to signal a pizza was taken out. It is sliced up and your name is called to pick up the order.

From placing the order to taking the first bite of your own creation takes about 10 minutes. Crisp airy crust, the right amount of sauce and cheese and the perfect combination of flavorful toppings all done up to the guests liking.

A side bar is stocked with shakers filled with red pepper flake, parmesan cheese and oregano to add to your pie. Just in case you don’t finish your pizza, boxes are up for grabs just a few feet away.

Overall, if Little Caesars had an older, sophisticated brother, Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza would fit the bill.

Blaze Fast-Fire’d has better pizza but is just as fast and affordable. It’s easy to see why they are opening up more places throughout Orange County, including two more coming soon in Orange and Santa Ana.