In 1985, Flax and Rosenfield pooled $200,000 in bank loans and savings along with $350,000 invested from friends to lease space on
Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The first menu, including the famous BBQ Chicken Pizza, was developed by
Ed LaDou, then the pizza chef at
Wolfgang Puck's
Spago restaurant. The very first customer at CPK was actress
Shirley MacLaine. Amongst the employees at the original location was chef
Suzanne Goin, who worked there the summer of 1985, while she was home from her first year at college. CPK became an immediate success, and the company expanded throughout Southern California. By 1992, there were 26 CPKs. Flax and Rosenfield served as co-CEO and co-chairmen of CPK from 1985 through to 1996. 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. 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. and G. J. Hart was named president, chief executive officer, and executive chairman. In 2018, CPK added Cauliflower Pizza Crust to its menu nationwide. In July 2020, CPK filed for bankruptcy due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. 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. The company emerged from bankruptcy in November 2020, with significantly less debt, and hired a new CFO, Judd Tirnauer. 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 an
IPO. CPK was acquired in November 2025 by a consortium led by Consortium Brand Partners and
Eldridge Industries for under $300 million. ==Countries of operation==