Blaze Pizza — Restaurant in Knoxville

This place is a sinking ship and I highly encourage anyone seeking employment to look elsewhere! Mike Forte and Wayne Albritton do not value their team, only their bottom line. There are so many other reputable, low stress companies that will treat you with the respect you deserve. These guys will pay you the bare minimum so they can continue getting rich, all while contributing nothing to the Restaurant. How can you from the seat by the front door of the entrance, Mike? They will allow you to work year after year, 60+ hours a week, travel all over building up their company, just to say they don’t owe you the SEVEN weeks of vacation time you had worked so hard for and built up over the years. Working for Blaze was the biggest regret of my life and I hope this will help others in their career choices. They don’t have your best interest in mind. Find another company that will actually take care of you. This place is going down in flames and they deserve it.

Edited to add: Mike Forte upon firing me agreed to pay me for the entirety of my vacation time that I accrued over time. After agreeing to this and we separated, he sent me a text saying he will only pay me my accrued PTO if I submit a letter of resignation so I would be unable to receive unemployment. (Again, three months into Covid). He even told me I was stupid for taking the chance on unemployment versus a guaranteed payout. Is this really how you want your company represented? With lies and dishonesty? I did not receive any of my accrued PTO because I refused to write a letter lying about my release of employment from Blaze Pizza. Shame on Mike Forte, Wayne Albritton, and Barb Powell for giving me...

I love Blaze! I’ve been visiting them since they opened and have noticed a massive decrease in cleanliness (specifically this location). The bathrooms are very dirty, I almost lost my appetite. I understand public bathrooms can be difficult to maintain, however, I visited shortly after opening and the toilet looked like it hasn’t been cleaned in days. There was fecal matter, urine and blood on the toilet and seat. I am concerned if you can’t keep your bathrooms clean, can you keep basic sanitary conditions in your kitchen?

During my visit, a male employee used his gloved hands to reposition his hat and touch his hair then touched food - I watch him do this several times and finally asked him to change his gloves and wash his hands - he did. The employee next to him thanked me for saying something.

UPDATE: I visited again on 8/19/2023. The restaurant is slightly cleaner than my previous visit but is still subpar.

I have attached pictures of the bathroom showing the filth. The toilet remains very dirty, the trash lid is covered with slime, the handrails haven’t been cleaned in a while, the sink is very dirty, construction debris remains untouched.

Hey Blaze, will you let us tour your back room and kitchen for cleanliness? Also, while in line, we are handed a card with a number on it. We are asked to put it on our table so they can deliver our pizza. Why do you give this to us if you call our names and have us walk to the counter to get our pizza? I don’t mind getting myself, just wondering why you do both, one...

Review update: Still my favorite pizza....but this restaurant location has changed. Not sure what happened to the guy who used to run this place, but the workers are not friendly anymore. They use to acknowledge you and greet you when you walked in. But not any longer. And the people who make your pizza have zero personality. They act like you are inconveniencing them if you ask for a little extra cheese on a build your own pizza. By the time I got to the register, I was almost angry just from the judging, unfriendly attitudes. But the young man on the register was a pleasant change. He was smiling (the first smile I had seen since entering the place) and pleasant. You really need to get the old team leader back (or whatever he was - he wasn't the manager but he was there when the place caught on fire a couple of years ago). Place is not as pleasant to visit now....been going downhill lately. But still good pizza!!

Original review: New favorite pizza....where else can you get a pizza with whatever topping you want and as much as you want. And the number of choices is amazing. I personally love the goat cheese, pineapple and roasted garlic with the usual red sauce, mozzarella and sausage. It sounds weird but it's so good. The creamy goat cheese and the hint of sweet from the pineapple brings it...