California Pizza Kitchen facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: CPKI |
| Industry | Food and beverage |
| Genre | American Cuisine |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founders | Rick Rosenfield Larry Flax |
| Headquarters | Costa Mesa, California, United States |
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Number of locations
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184 (As of May 9, 2023) |
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Area served
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United States (incl. Guam), Costa Rica, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea |
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Key people
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Jeff Warne (CEO) |
| Products | Pizzas, pastas, salads, small plates, and desserts |
| Services | Polished casual dining restaurant |
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Number of employees
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14,000 |
| Subsidiaries | CPK ASAP |
California Pizza Kitchen, or CPK, is a popular restaurant chain in America. They are famous for their special California-style pizzas. Two lawyers, Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, started CPK in Beverly Hills, California, in 1985. CPK became well-known for creating and making the BBQ Chicken Pizza popular.
Contents
About California Pizza Kitchen
CPK has more than 185 restaurants. You can find them in 32 states across the U.S. and in 10 other countries. Some CPK locations are special, like those in airports, universities, and sports stadiums.
CPK also sells frozen pizzas in supermarkets. These pizzas come in different styles, like hand-tossed, crispy thin crust, and gluten-free. The company first allowed Kraft to sell their frozen pizzas in 1999. Later, in 2010, Nestlé took over this license when they bought Kraft's pizza brands.
How CPK Started and Grew
In 1985, Rick Flax and Larry Rosenfield decided to open a pizza place. They used $200,000 from bank loans and their own savings. Friends also invested $350,000 to help them lease a spot in Beverly Hills, California.
The first menu, including the famous BBQ Chicken Pizza, was created by Ed LaDou. He was a pizza chef at a famous restaurant called Spago. The very first customer at CPK was the actress Shirley MacLaine. CPK quickly became a big hit. The company grew fast across Southern California. By 1992, there were 26 CPK restaurants.
Flax and Rosenfield were the co-CEOs and co-chairmen of CPK from 1985 to 1996.
Fast Growth and Challenges
In 1992, a company called PepsiCo bought most of CPK for almost $100 million. PepsiCo wanted CPK to grow even faster. CPK opened 15 new stores in 1993 and 28 more in 1994. This quick expansion caused problems. PepsiCo had invested a lot of money and soon slowed down the growth. They also tried to cut costs. PepsiCo executives started using frozen vegetables and cheese instead of fresh ingredients. Flax and Rosenfield later changed this back to fresh ingredients.
In 1997, a private investment company bought PepsiCo's share of CPK. They planned to make CPK a public company by 2000. They also wanted to expand again. A new leader, Fred Hipp, was hired to run CPK. He had an aggressive plan to open many new stores. Flax and Rosenfield stayed on the board but were not involved in daily operations.
In early 2003, CPK reported good profits. However, a few weeks later, they announced lower earnings than expected. Rosenfield looked into the numbers and found that the good news was hiding problems ahead. An emergency meeting was called. Hipp and another executive were fired. Flax and Rosenfield took back control of CPK.
Flax and Rosenfield served as co-CEOs and co-chairmen again from 2003 to 2011. In 2011, another private investment company bought CPK. A new CEO, G. J. Hart, was then put in charge.
New Menu Items and Changes
In 2013, CPK started offering gluten-free pizzas. These pizzas were certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. You could find them at most CPK locations.
In 2014, CPK began updating its restaurants with a "Next Chapter" design. This included modern interiors and new menu items.
In 2018, CPK added Cauliflower Pizza Crust to its menu across the country.
In July 2020, CPK faced financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company had to file for bankruptcy. By October 2020, a planned sale of the company was canceled because no one made a suitable offer. CPK successfully came out of bankruptcy in November 2020. They had much less debt and hired a new financial officer. In mid-2021, they worked to manage their remaining debt. This would help them be in a better position for a possible sale or to offer shares to the public.
Where You Can Find CPK
CPK restaurants are located in many countries around the world, including:
- Australia
- Canada
- Chile
- China (Hong Kong)
- Costa Rica
- Guam
- India
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
Images for kids
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The Ocean Terminal, Hong Kong location at Christmastime
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A new California Pizza Kitchen in Stamford, Connecticut
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A California Pizza Kitchen location at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey
See also
In Spanish: California Pizza Kitchen para niños
