Blaze Pizza at The Corner at Livingston Circle in Livingston — Courtesy: Pierson Commercial
By Joshua Burd
Fast casual chain Blaze Pizza has expanded its footprint with the addition of two new stores in Somerset and Essex counties, according to a broker with Pierson Commercial.
The operator has leased spaces at The Corner at Livingston Circle, located at Eisenhower Parkway and Route 10 in Livingston, and at Chimney Rock Crossing on Chimney Rock Road in Bridgewater. The spaces will be 2,500 square feet and 2,440 square feet, respectively.
Gary Krauss of Pierson Commercial represented Blaze in the deals. For the Livingston location, which opened in early September, Dina Santerelli and Larry Anderson of Sabre Realty represented landlord Saber Livingston LLC.
“The state of New Jersey commercial real estate is marked by a limit of new inventory,” Krauss said. “The Corner at Livingston Circle was a rare new, exciting development going up in the heart of a dynamic market, Route 10 in Livingston. With top-tier cotenants like The Container Store, Shake Shack and Starbucks, this was the kind of A+ site we were looking for.”
John Hanlon of CBRE represented the owner in the Bridgewater deal, Chimney Rock Crossing East LLC Regency Properties. That store is projected to open early next year, Krauss said, noting “Bridgewater was already a great daytime-population market” and that other quick service restaurants nearby have had some of the highest sales volumes in the state.
“And the area’s office market has continued to see rapid growth,” he said. “That combined with a new, Whole Foods-anchored center with top-tier QSR cotenants made Chimney Rock a natural choice.
“It’s tough in New Jersey to find a great center that doesn’t already have a pizza concept, so getting in on the ground floor of this new center was a way to get Blaze the prominent exposure the brand deserves.”
