Hamburg dining news: Pizza chain closing. But something hot is moving in.
Looks like Hamburg is swapping one hot restaurant trend for another.
A popular chain at Hamburg will be closing its doors at the end of business today. But another restaurant apparently is moving in.
Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza at 2305 Sir Barton Way will be closed after today. The California-based company confirmed the closure late Tuesday after informing employees.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to consolidate our Lexington locations to best serve the community. The Hamburg Blaze Pizza’s last day of business is Wednesday, February 26, 2020,” said Pat Tallon, operating partner of Blaze Pizza Kentucky.
Employees were met at the restaurant and notified in person, Tallon said in an emailed statement.
The fast-fired pizza chain, which was the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country in 2014, opened its first Lexington location on South Limestone in 2015; that one closed in February 2018.
Another location is at the Summit at Fritz Fram and that one will remain open.
“All of our team members have been offered positions at our location at the Summit,” Tallon said. “We encourage our guests to visit us at our location at the Summit at Fritz Farm and we look forward to continuing to develop the Blaze Pizza concept throughout Kentucky.”
But it looks like the Hamburg restaurant location won’t remain empty for long.
There are plans to open a second Joella’s Hot Chicken in Lexington and the Louisville-based chain confirmed that they are looking at Hamburg. Joella’s opened a location in 2016 at the corner of Cochran and Tates Creek after Billy’s Bar-B-Q closed.
“Joella’s is working to finalize a lease for a two-store deal to open a new store in Lexington (on Sir Barton Way) and one in Southern Indiana. As soon as that is signed we are happy to share more details,” the company said in a statement.
On Feb. 21, Joella’s filed for a commercial remodeling permit for 2305 Sir Barton Way. According to the filing with the city, Joella’s plans to renovate 3,392 square feet at a cost of about $300,000.
In December, Yelp released its food trends to watch for in 2020. Hot chicken made on the top 10 list: “We expect to see this fried chicken dish everywhere in 2020,” Yelp said.
