California Pizza Kitchen Opens in River Oaks Shopping Center

By: California Pizza Kitchen | 0 Shares 81 Reads

Charity Day Will Ring Out for Operation School Bell

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 2007--California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. (CPK) (NASDAQ:CPKI), home of the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza and other innovative hearth-baked pizzas, made-to-order pastas, creative salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts, opened its third Houston location today, making it the tenth CPK restaurant in Texas.

The new 5,900 square foot CPK will be located near the popular intersection of W. Gray and Shepherd, where the landmark Birraporetti's once stood. Hours of operation will be Monday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. except Friday and Saturday when the restaurant closes at 11:00 p.m. Guests can dine-in, place a take-out order by calling (713) 526-0010.

The menu features all of the popular CPK favorites including Thai Chicken Pizza, Jamaican Jerk Pizza, BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad and Shanghai Garlic Noodles plus five new menu items: Mediterranean Salad, Pan Sauteed Salmon served with fresh grilled asparagus and spaghettini in a creamy lemon-caper sauce; Cajun Pizza topped with blackened chicken and spicy andouille sausage with a Creole sauce, and The Works Pizza, topped with sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives and mozzarella cheese. For a sweet ending, try the new White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake.

The beverage menu offers a full bar with a great selection of wines and more than 40 specialty drinks headlined by CPK's original California Cosmo. Five new cocktails are Caribbean Sunset Sangria, Peach Passion Punch, Mango Lava Colada, Absolutly Sweet Peach Tea and Malibu Iced Tea.

In keeping with CPK's tradition of giving back to the communities it serves, CPK will donate 100% of all dine-in pizza sales at the River Oaks location on October 1 to the Operation School Bell project of the Assistance League of Houston, celebrating its 40th year serving the Houston community. The organization has clothed more than 37,000 disadvantaged elementary school children with uniforms and other clothing needs and has awarded more than $1.2 million in scholarships.

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., founded in 1985, is a leading casual dining chain. Of the chain's 220 restaurants, 187 are company-owned and 33 operate under franchise or license agreements. There are 26 CPK ASAP locations, 10 of which are company-owned and 16 are franchised. Another company-owned concept is LA Food Show Grill & Bar, which currently has one location in Manhattan Beach, California. The company's full-service restaurants feature an imaginative line of hearth-baked pizzas, including the original BBQ Chicken Pizza, and a broad selection of distinctive pastas, salads, soups, appetizers and sandwiches. The company also has a licensing arrangement with Kraft Pizza Company, which manufactures and distributes a line of California Pizza Kitchen premium frozen pizzas. Children who dine at California Pizza Kitchen choose from an extensive menu, recently named "The Best Kids Menu in America" by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine. For more details, visit www.cpk.com.

CONTACT: California Pizza Kitchen