California Pizza Kitchen's Name Origin Linked to Rhode Island Suggestion
Co-founder Rick Rosenfield shares how a suggestion from a couple in Providence, Rhode Island, led to the restaurant's iconic name.
California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), now with nearly 50 locations across California and 200 worldwide, owes its name to a suggestion made by a couple from Providence, Rhode Island, according to co-founder Rick Rosenfield.
Rosenfield and Larry Flax, who opened the first CPK in Beverly Hills in 1985, were considering more traditional Italian-sounding names for their restaurant. During a dinner, a couple from Providence advised them against typical Italian names, suggesting that a "California Pizza Kitchen" in Providence would be more intriguing than just another Italian eatery.
"I absolutely believe that the California name resonated not only in California, but around the world," Rosenfield said. "It has a connotation of being healthy and innovative and clean and energetic."
Rosenfield and Flax were not typical restaurateurs. Both had careers as federal prosecutors before opening their own criminal defense practice. Frustrated with practicing law, they decided to open a restaurant.
Initially, their concept was a pasta cafeteria. However, they observed customers ordering pizza slices with their pasta. This observation led them to pivot towards a new style of pizza emerging at the time – California-style pizza – and to place a wood-burning oven at the center of the restaurant.
Their initial pitch was "Spago for the masses" involved hiring the former pizza chef from the upscale Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills. While the menu featured exotic pizzas such as rabbit and lamb sausage, the barbecue chicken pizza became the unexpected hit.
"There was no ‘Spago for the masses’ because people didn’t care about the exotic pizzas. They cared about the barbecue chicken pizza," Rosenfield recalled. "So Larry and I quickly realized that the secret was getting away from tomato sauce, but doing something that people could identify with in the taste."
Rosenfield also noted the strategic decision to locate the flagship restaurant near his home in Beverly Hills. The founders aimed to create a family-friendly restaurant that appealed to a broad demographic, including parents, children, and grandparents.
Rosenfield's journey growing CPK from a single location to 265 is detailed in his book, "The California Pizza Kitchen Story: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza," released July 21.