The chain has over 185 locations in 32 U.S. states[7] and 10 other countries,[8] including 15 California Pizza Kitchen nontraditional, franchise concepts designed for airports, universities, and stadiums.
CPK's brand is licensed to a line of hand-tossed style, crispy thin crust, gluten-free crust, and smallfrozen pizzas for sale in supermarkets.[9] The brand was originally licensed toKraft in 1999.[10] The license was assigned toNestlé after it purchased Kraft's pizza lines in 2010.[11]
In 1985, Flax and Rosenfield pooled $200,000 in bank loans and savings along with $350,000 invested from friends to lease space onBeverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The first menu, including the famous BBQ Chicken Pizza, was developed byEd LaDou, then the pizza chef atWolfgang Puck'sSpago restaurant. The very first customer at CPK was actressShirley MacLaine.[12] Amongst the employees at the original location was chefSuzanne Goin, who worked there the summer of 1985, while she was home from her first year atcollege.[13] CPK became an immediate success, and the company expanded throughout Southern California. By 1992, there were 26 CPKs.[14]
Flax and Rosenfield served as co-CEO and co-chairmen of CPK from 1985 through to 1996.[15]
In 1992,PepsiCo paid nearly $100 million for 67% of the chain, with Flax and Rosenfield each receiving $17.5 million. At the time, this was thought to be more than CPK was worth, and PepsiCo pushed to expand faster. CPK opened 15 stores in 1993, and then 28 more in the following year. This rapid expansion plan was a disaster.[why?] PepsiCo had invested tens of millions of dollars and quickly slowed expansion, and moved to cut costs. PepsiCo executives had started cutting corners by replacing fresh ingredients with frozen vegetables and cheese, a change Flax and Rosenfield later reversed.[14]
In 1997, the private equity firmBruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Company bought out PepsiCo's two-thirds stake with the intention of taking CPK public in 2000, pushing for expansion to resume. Veteran restaurant executive Fred Hipp was hired to run CPK with an aggressive expansion plan, including 18 new stores in 2002, 22 in 2003, and 28 in 2004. The expansion was to be carried out by formerBrinker International Vice President Tom Jenneman, under the title ofchief development officer. Flax and Rosenfield remained on the board, but had no day-to-day control.[14]
In early 2003, CPK reported a 16% increase in profits, with Hipp telling analysts that CPK was in excellent financial condition. In a March 25, 2003, press release, CPK cut its first-quarter earnings estimates, which were not consistent with the forecast made just a few weeks earlier. Rosenfield investigated the numbers and discovered the positive earnings numbers Hipp had been touting were masking difficult quarters ahead. An emergency board meeting was called, Hipp and Jenneman were fired, and Flax and Rosenfield resumed control of CPK.[14]
Flax and Rosenfield served as co-CEO and co-chairmen of CPK from 2003 to 2011.[15] In 2011, CPK was acquired by an affiliate of private equity firmGolden Gate Capital,[16][17] and G. J. Hart was named president, chief executive officer, and executive chairman.[5]
In 2013, CPK started servingGluten Intolerance Group (GIG) certified gluten-free pizzas, available across all CPK locations, excluding franchise locations.[18][19][20][21]
In 2014, CPK started rolling out their "Next Chapter" locations, with modernized interiors and updated menus.[22]
In 2018, CPK added Cauliflower Pizza Crust to its menu nationwide.[23]
In July 2020, CPK filed for bankruptcy due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[24] Owner Golden Gate Capital LP had acquired the company in 2011 and lost 100% of its investment. In October 2020, the sale of the company's assets was cancelled because no party submitted a qualified bid by the sale deadline.[25] The company emerged from bankruptcy in November 2020, with significantly less debt,[26] and hired a new CFO, Judd Tirnauer.[27] In mid-2021, it reportedly hired advisors to refinance its remaining $177 million debt, which would put it in a better position for either a sale or anIPO.[28]
CPK was acquired in November 2025 by a consortium led by Consortium Brand Partners andEldridge Industries for under $300 million.[29]
Dave Portnoy, the founder ofBarstool Sports, reviewed the restaurant's New York location in 2018 during one of his "One Bite" pizza reviews and gave the restaurant a 7.1 score.[30]
1 Brand owned byGeneral Mills; Produced by General Mills in the U.S. and Canada. Produced byCereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere.2 Brand owned byGeneral Mills; U.S. and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license.3 U.S. production rights owned byThe Hershey Company.4 U.S. rights and production owned by theSmarties Candy Company with a different product.5 U.S. rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned byAssociated British Foods.6 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé.7 Brand owned byPost Foods; Produced by Cereal Partners and branded as Nestlé in the U.K. and Ireland.8 Philippine production rights owned byAlaska Milk Corporation.9 Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai production rights owned byFraser and Neave.10 Used only in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.11 Used only in the Philippines.12 U.S. production rights owned by theFerrara Candy Company.13NA rights and specific trade dress to all packaged coffee and other products under the Starbucks brand owned by Nestlé since 2019.14 Brand owned byMars, sold by Nestlé in Canada.15 Produced byFroneri in the U.S. since 2020.
