The Iowa City Downtown District added one more restaurant to its ever-growing list of businesses last week with the grand opening of Blaze Pizza.

The restaurant, featuring a 3,000-square-foot interior and seating for 100 patrons, is located in the Old Capitol Town Center and offers custom, handmade pizzas ready in minutes. Along with build-your-own pizzas, Blaze’s menu includes salads and desserts as well as signature pizzas.

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The Iowa City location is the fourth Blaze in Iowa for Paul McCrae, the franchise owner for Nebraska and Iowa. His other three restaurants are in Ames and Des Moines.

McCrae wanted to bring Blaze to Iowa City because of its reputation of being a great place to live, as well as the mix of people in the community.

Blaze has spread across the country via numerous college towns, with the first restaurant opening in Irvine, California, five years ago.

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McCrae said the proximity to the University of Iowa campus will help business, because families, community members, and businesses in the surrounding area will have easy access to the location.

Blaze is open from 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.