California Pizza Kitchen: The Whole Story

You've undoubtedly heard the story before, but Los Angeles Magazine's MarK Lacter goes deep inside California Pizza Kitchen and details the company's humble beginnings to the multi-million dollar, 240-store worldwide global enterprise it is today. What we learn: Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield originally pooled $200k together for their first location, and now CPK pulls in $633 million; it wasn't a straight shot to glory; they've partnered with Kraft to sell more frozen pizzas; and they still plan to open L.A. Food Show this fall in Beverly Hills. But what we really wanted to know is if they're sick of pizza: Obviously, since they're eating burgers in the article's accompanying picture.
· Second Helping [LA Mag]
· Plywood Report: L.A. Food Show [~ELA~]