Blaze Pizza relocating California headquarters

LOS ANGELES - Blaze Pizza, a national pizza chain owned in part by NBA superstar LeBron James, is joining a growing list of businesses leaving California following a minimum wage increase for fast food workers back in April. 

The pizza chain is leaving its Pasadena headquarters and relocating to Atlanta for "our next wave of growth," CEO Beto Guajardo told Restaurant Business. 

Blaze said its restaurant employees would largely be unaffected by the move, and that a handful of non-remote corporate employees are being offered "relocation opportunities." 

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"California is where this brand was born more than a decade ago, and we have tremendous heart for communities across the state where so many of our restaurants are,"Guajardo said.

Founded in Southern California, Blaze operates 330 restaurants across 38 states and six countries. One-third of its locations are in California.

Blaze’s relocation announcement follows news of Rubio’s Coastal Grill shuttering 48 California stores. The company filed in bankruptcy court in Delaware, marking the second time Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc. did so in four years.

According to a report from the Hoover Institution, California lost nearly 10,000 more fast food jobs after the state’s $20 per hour fast food minimum wage law was signed into effect last fall. 

FOX 11 reached out to Blaze Pizza for comment but has not yet heard back.