New pizza spot is opening in Paso Robles — and you can pour your own beer
Here’s good news for fans of San Luis Obispo’s Blast 825 Taproom. A new Blast location is opening in downtown Paso Robles.
Blast & Brew is slated to open at 803 13th St. in Paso Robles on Feb. 13, according to Michael S. Reynolds, senior vice president of Milano Restaurants International, the eatery’s parent company.
Like sister restaurant Blast 825 Taproom, which opened in downtown San Luis Obispo in 2016, Blast & Brew specializes in wood-fired pizzas and craft beers. However, the Paso Robles eatery bears a new name that Reynolds said emphasizes its status as a sit-down, full-service restaurant.
The Blast 825 brand “didn’t represent the quality of the product we’re putting out,” Reynolds explained. “We didn’t want to get caught up in the whole line-style pizza place thing.”
Blast & Brew serves up nine signature pizzas, plus build-your-own options, baked at breakneck speed. Pizzas are cooked in just three minutes, the company’s website says.
The rest of the menu features what the restaurant calls “tappetizers” — appetizers such as sweet potato fries and chicken wings — as well as salads, sandwiches and desserts.
In addition, Blast & Brew offers 25 to 30 craft beers and five or six wines on self-serve taps.
“The beauty of the self pour is (you get) to sample a little bit of everything,” Reynolds said.
Diners at the 3,000-square-foot space, located at the corner of 13th Street and Park Street, can expect a “rustic industrial” setting with brick walls, exposed crossbeams and 12 to 15 big-screen TVs playing sports and music videos, Reynolds said.
Blast & Brew’s parent company, Fresno-based restaurant group Milano Restaurants International, operates five main restaurant concepts, including Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria, Me-n-Ed’s Coney Island Grill, Me-n-Ed’s Victory Grill and Piazza del Pane Italian Cafe.
A new Piazza del Pane location opened in Paso Robles on Jan. 10, moving into the Pine Street building formerly occupied by Villa Creek.
For more information, visit blastandbrew.com.
This story was originally published February 7, 2019 at 12:37 PM.
