You’ve Probably Never Heard Of America’s Favorite Pizza Chain

“Let’s get pizza!” are three of my favorite words. Whether I’m with friends, family, my boo, or just shouting it at a dog in an empty house (which I have done), the take-out staple is dearest to me and many more in these United States.

The inevitable question when you’re ordering a pizza is where to order it from, and arguments in my house always ensue. While everyone has their own favorite chain, it looks like a relatively new pizza chain has emerged as America’s number one pick.

The Harris Poll has just released their 2018 Brands of the Year, and LeBron James-backed Blaze Pizza has emerged as America’s Favorite Pizza. The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S., even advising presidents like Kennedy and Reagan. For this year’s study, they asked more than 77,000 U.S. consumers for their input on more than 3,000 brands across more than 300 categories.

If you’ve never heard of Blaze Pizza, you aren’t alone: I hadn’t either. They offer a slightly different way to order your pizza than any other chain in America.

Just seven years ago, in 2011, Pasadena, California-based chain Blaze Pizza emerged on the scene. If you’ve ever been to Chipotle, think of Blaze as it’s unrelated pizza friend: customers walk in, stand in the queue, and travel down an assembly line where they choose which ingredients they want on their pizza (LeBron gets 16!), and by the end, their pie is ready to bake.

The name “Blaze” comes from the high-temperature, open-flame oven each pizza is prepared in, which boasts an average bake time of only three minutes. That’s a lot less than the 30 minutes almost every other chain offers, and gives you a glimpse into why Blaze Pizza has become so popular without even having to taste it. (I still want to taste it.)

If you’ve never heard of Blaze, you’re not alone. In an unofficial poll I ran on Twitter and Facebook, only half of the people who responded had even heard of the pizza chain. But that really didn’t change how much more popular Blaze has become over the usual pizza suspects.

“This is actually a time when being ‘big’ is code for being the establishment,” said Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema in a press release, “As private label and the popularity of craft products rises, brands are now differentiated on their values, personal connection and their ability to build community.”

Since Blaze Pizza has become the fastest-growing food chain in the history of the United States (you read that right: it’s opened 200 stores in a four-year period), it’s likely everyone in America will know and soon love the fast-casual pie shop.