California Pizza Kitchen co-founder Rick Rosenfield told Fox News Digital how two former prosecutors built a pizza empire and how he believes the iconic chain is moving toward “new glory.” On a quintessential street in Beverly Hills, in 1985, a restaurant opened its doors that would help transform the pizza industry. After years of practicing law as federal prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys, co-founders Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax decided to leave the courtroom behind to pursue their dream of becoming restaurateurs. “We didn’t want to open just one restaurant. We decided to be bold. We said we wanted to open a national and international chain of restaurants,” Rosenfield told Fox News Digital. With its Original BBQ Chicken Pizza and refined approach to casual dining, California Pizza Kitchen helped popularize California-style pizza among diners across the United States and, eventually, around the world. The chain became a household name while helping to bring a distinctive, California-inspired approach to pizzas, pastas, salads and desserts. FUDDRUCKERS BECOMES A BURGER ‘BOX OFFICE’ HIT, AND NOW ALMOST DISAPPEARS Rick Rosenfield (left) and Larry Flax (right) co-founded California Pizza Kitchen after years of practicing law. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Getty Images)California Pizza Kitchen has more than 120 restaurants in 10 countries. But at one point, CPK only existed in a store on South Beverly Drive. Rosenfield recalled the restaurant’s early days in Beverly Hills as “hectic,” and actress Shirley MacLaine became its first customer on opening day. “Before we even opened, we knew we had a blockbuster on our hands. We created barbecue chicken pizza. And in the early days of CPK, it was completely crazy. Everyone came to eat barbecue chicken pizza,” Rosenfield said. His book, “The Story of California Pizza Cooking: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza,” was published July 21. Rosenfield and Flax employed a real estate strategy that helped expand CPK’s reach, opening restaurants in and around shopping centers. “CPK also helped change the way America eats because we were pioneers in going into high-end shopping centers across America at a time when… everything was fast food,” Rosenfield said. “We’re bringing this fine-casual dining to America’s best shopping centers.” California Pizza Kitchen located in Simi Valley Town Center on April 12, 2010. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Getty Images) After Rosenfield and Flax expanded CPK to more than 200 locations around the world, the pizza giant was acquired for $470 million by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in 2011. YOUR TEENAGE YEARS At the time of the acquisition, the headquartered company in San Francisco described itself as “one of the most active acquirers of leading brands in the retail and restaurant sector.” Nine years after Golden Gate Capital acquired the chain, CPK filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 30, 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated its existing financial problems. Rosenfield, however, told Fox News Digital that he believes CPK’s problems began before the bankruptcy filing. arguing that Golden Gate Capital damaged the culture he and Flax had spent decades building. “As a founder, it’s hard to sit back because I had no role in it. So we’re armchair quarterbacks looking in from the outside,” he said. A California Pizza Kitchen location in Los Angeles on June 28, 2005. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Los Angeles Magazine/Getty Images) “I think they damaged the culture from day one. They wanted to remake it with a different image than we had remade it. And in the meantime, it was not successful,” the co-founder continued. “And it continued to decline on that basis, unfortunately. Like I said, as we sat back and watched it, it was eventually driven into bankruptcy.” Golden Gate Capital declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment. California Pizza Kitchen emerged from bankruptcy in November 2020, and Rosenfield, who said he still dines at CPK every few weeks, is optimistic about the chain’s future under a new owner who he believes is “committed” to restoring the brand. Success.The acquisition of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) by New York-based Consortium Brand Partners was announced in December 2025 for a deal valued at just under $300 million. Rosenfield said he is “excited” with the direction the restaurant is taking under the new ownership. “I think they want to take the brand, not just to its former glory, but to a new glory,” Rosenfield said. “I have confidence in this team. And for the first time in all these years, my partner, Larry Flax, and I are very excited about where it could go.” Rosenfield and Flax at the Redondo Beach/South Bay Galleria California Pizza Kitchen on January 15, 2008. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APPRosenfield reflected on the legacy he and Flax built from a small rented space in Beverly Hills, telling Fox News Digital that the 41-year-old restaurant chain “did” exactly what they imagined. from the beginning. “I love that everyone has a CPK story. That’s what prompted me to write the book,” said the co-founder. “What we wanted was achieved. Grandparents, parents and children have a place where everyone can go and agree to go.” “While I said I think they hurt the culture in the past few years, I think the food has been incredibly consistent. And I’ve always been extremely proud of the brand,” Rosenfield said.
