California Pizza Kitchen Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
California Pizza Kitchen, Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Food and beverage
Genre	American Cuisine
Founded	1985; 40 years ago (1985)
Founders	Rick Rosenfield Larry Flax
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Number of locations	184 (As of May 9, 2023)
Area served	United States Mexico South America Central America Asia-Pacific Western Asia Australia Canada
Key people	Jeff Warne (CEO)
Products	Pizzas, pastas, salads, small plates, and desserts
Services	Polished casual dining restaurant
Number of employees	14,000
Subsidiaries	CPK ASAP

California Pizza Kitchen (often called CPK) is a popular American restaurant chain. It is known for its special California-style pizza. Two lawyers, Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, started CPK in 1985. The very first restaurant opened in Beverly Hills, California, United States. CPK became famous for introducing and making the BBQ Chicken Pizza popular.

About California Pizza Kitchen
- Where You Can Find CPK
History of CPK
Countries Where CPK Operates
See also

About California Pizza Kitchen

California Pizza Kitchen locations

A CPK restaurant in Ocean Terminal, Hong Kong during Christmas.
A new California Pizza Kitchen in Stamford, Connecticut.
A California Pizza Kitchen at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey.

CPK is well-known for its unique and creative pizzas. Some popular kinds include the "Original BBQ Chicken Pizza," Thai Chicken, and Jamaican Jerk Chicken pizzas. They also serve many other dishes. These include different kinds of pasta, fresh salads, soups, sandwiches, and tasty desserts.

CPK has a special menu just for kids aged 10 and under. This menu offers a variety of pizzas, pastas, salads, and chicken dishes.

Where You Can Find CPK

The restaurant chain has more than 250 locations. You can find them in 32 U.S. states and 10 other countries. Some CPK locations are "nontraditional." These are smaller restaurants found in places like 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 crust. The company first allowed Kraft to sell its frozen pizzas in 1999. Later, in 2010, Nestlé took over the license after buying Kraft's pizza brands.

History of CPK

A California Club pizza from CPK.

In 1985, Rick Flax and Larry Rosenfield used their savings and loans to open the first CPK. They also had money invested by friends. The first restaurant was on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. The famous BBQ Chicken Pizza was created by Ed LaDou. He was a pizza chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant.

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 main leaders of CPK from 1985 to 1996.

Growth and Challenges

In 1992, a large company called PepsiCo bought most of CPK. They paid a lot of money for 67% of the chain. PepsiCo wanted CPK to grow even faster. CPK opened 15 new stores in 1993 and 28 more in 1994. This very fast growth plan caused some problems.

PepsiCo had invested a lot of money. They soon slowed down the expansion and tried to save money. Some PepsiCo leaders started using frozen ingredients instead of fresh ones. This changed the taste of the food. Later, Flax and Rosenfield changed it back to fresh ingredients.

In 1997, a company called Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Company bought PepsiCo's share of CPK. They planned for CPK to become a public company in 2000. They also wanted to start expanding again. Fred Hipp, an experienced restaurant executive, was hired to lead CPK. He had a plan to open many new stores each year. Flax and Rosenfield stayed on the board, but they were not involved in daily operations.

Returning to Control

In early 2003, CPK reported good profits. However, Rosenfield looked closer at the numbers. He found that the good news was hiding problems for the future. An urgent meeting was called. Hipp and another executive were let go. Flax and Rosenfield took back control of CPK.

Flax and Rosenfield led CPK again from 2003 to 2011. In 2011, a company called Golden Gate Capital bought CPK. G. J. Hart became the new president and CEO.

New Menu Items and Modernization

In 2013, CPK started offering gluten-free pizzas. These pizzas were certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. You can find them at most CPK locations.

In 2014, CPK began updating its restaurants. They called this the "Next Chapter" plan. It included modernizing the inside of the restaurants and updating the menus. In 2018, CPK added Cauliflower Pizza Crust to its menu across the country.

Overcoming Difficulties

In July 2020, CPK faced financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company needed to reorganize its business. In October 2020, a planned sale of the company was canceled. No one made a good enough offer to buy it.

However, CPK successfully reorganized its business in November 2020. They reduced their debt significantly. They also hired a new chief financial officer. In 2021, the company looked for ways to manage its remaining debt. This would help CPK be ready for a possible sale or to become a public company again.

California Pizza Kitchen facts for kids

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