# California Pizza Kitchen

> California Pizza Kitchen is a privately held casual-dining and consumer-food brand built around globally inspired California cuisine. Founded in Beverly Hills in 1985 by former federal prosecutors Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, CPK turned chef Ed LaDou’s Original BBQ Chicken Pizza into a recognizable calling card, then extended the brand from full-service restaurants into airports, campuses, grocery freezers, sauces, dressings, catering, delivery and experimental vending machines. Following a 2020 Chapter 11 restructuring and a December 2025 acquisition by an investor group led by Consortium Brand Partners, its next phase centers on franchising, international expansion and translating restaurant dishes into more retail products.

- **Founded:** 1985
- **Headquarters:** Costa Mesa, United States
- **Founders:** Rick Rosenfield (Co-founder and former co-CEO), Larry Flax (Co-founder and former co-CEO)
- **Team size:** Approximately 3,900 employees in the supplied company record; LinkedIn lists 5,001-10,000 employees.
- **Products:** Full-service restaurants, The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, CPK frozen pizza, CPK Rewards and digital ordering, Catering and Take & Bake
- **Notable:** Helped bring California-style pizza and unconventional toppings into mainstream American casual dining., Popularized the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, created for the 1985 opening menu by chef Ed LaDou., Built an international restaurant footprint that reached 10 countries by late 2025.

## Products & services

- **Full-service restaurants** — California-inspired pizzas, salads, pastas, entrées, desserts and drinks for dine-in, carryout and delivery.
- **The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza** — The signature smoked-Gouda, barbecue-chicken, red-onion and cilantro pizza developed for the opening menu by chef Ed LaDou.
- **CPK frozen pizza** — Premium frozen pizzas sold through grocery retailers under a long-running licensed consumer-products business now partnered with Nestlé.
- **CPK Rewards and digital ordering** — A loyalty wallet, mobile ordering and web ordering that support promotions, pickup and delivery.
- **Catering and Take & Bake** — Group catering plus uncooked restaurant pizzas designed to be finished in a customer’s oven.
- **Branded sauces and dressings** — Retail salad dressings and noodle sauces that extend CPK beyond the frozen-pizza aisle.
- **Pizza vending machines** — A piloted triple-heating format intended for airports, campuses and entertainment venues.
- **Retail appetizers and entrées** — Restaurant-inspired frozen appetizers and entrées in development for a planned nationwide grocery rollout beginning in 2027.

## Achievements

- Helped bring California-style pizza and unconventional toppings into mainstream American casual dining.
- Popularized the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, created for the 1985 opening menu by chef Ed LaDou.
- Built an international restaurant footprint that reached 10 countries by late 2025.
- Established a premium frozen-pizza business with more than 25 years in grocery retail.
- Became the first national restaurant brand to introduce cauliflower pizza crust in 2018.
- Completed a 2020 restructuring that eliminated more than $220 million of debt.
- Activated its first broad domestic franchising program in 2024.
- Reported 2025 same-store sales growth that outpaced the broader restaurant industry.
- Expanded branded packaged goods to more than 10,000 major grocery retailers by late 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — An investor group led by Consortium Brand Partners acquired CPK; Convive Brands became global operator and master franchisor.
- **2026-01** — CPK launched Smart Swaps, nine protein-packed, plant-forward or lower-calorie adaptations, with Denise Austin and Katie Austin.
- **2026-03** — The company announced a wider consumer-products plan: Latin American frozen-pizza expansion with Nestlé, Asian retail growth, and U.S. frozen appetizers and entrées targeted for 2027.
- **2026-04** — A limited spring menu added five globally inspired entrées and four spritz cocktails.
- **2026-06** — CPK opened a Coapa, Mexico City restaurant with Beleki Brands and launched a World Cup-themed Rewards and mobile-kitchen promotion.
- **2026-07** — Co-founder Rick Rosenfield marked the release of The California Pizza Kitchen Story with an event at CPK Manhattan Beach.

## Links

- Website: https://www.cpk.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/california-pizza-kitchen
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/calpizzakitchen
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/CPKTelevision
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cpk/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/californiapizzakitchen
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@calpizzakitchen

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13