5 Years After Bankruptcy, This Iconic California Pizza Chain Has A New Owner

Every long-lived restaurant chain had its ups and downs, but it has been a particularly wild ride for the creative pizza chain California Pizza Kitchen. Founded in 1985 in Beverly Hills, California, the restaurant started as a pioneer in the casual dining space, operating sit-down restaurants that brought the upscale "California-style" pizzas of Wolfgang Puck's Spago to the masses. The success of California Pizza Kitchen's then-unique barbecue chicken pizza led to a quick expansion and then a sale to PepsiCo in the mid-'90s. Since then, the pizza chain has been repeatedly sold and seen its fortunes wax and wane as it expanded into frozen meals and food courts. When 2020 hit, the already struggling brand was pushed into bankruptcy by the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, five full years later, it looks like another new chapter may be starting for CPK.

As reported by Reuters, an investment group led by Consortium Brand Partners has agreed to purchase the pizza chain, along with supporting financing from Eldridge Industries, Convive Brands, and Aurify Brands. The constellation of financial organizations has purchased California Pizza Kitchen from its creditors, which have controlled the company since it failed to find new buyers after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. However, California Pizza Kitchen's fortunes have recently begun to turn around, as it saw sales growth in 2025 that outpaced its competitors. This has made it more attractive to buyers, and the new owners plan to start expanding the chain again.

California Pizza Kitchen currently has 120 stores throughout the United States, which is down from over 200 prior to the pandemic. However, the company has recently pursued a multipronged turnaround strategy that has involved expanding outside the U.S., adding customer loyalty programs, improving off-site sales through better online ordering systems, and emphasizing itself as a healthy choice for pizza. Not only has that led to an improvement in sales, but CPK still owns its popular line of frozen pizzas and is expanding its grocery presence with new salad dressings.

Jon Weber, who has previously been CEO of Pizza Hut, has been appointed the new CEO of California Pizza Kitchen. Weber is currently chief executive officer of Convive Brands, which already owns Le Pain Quotidien and The Little Beet. For Consortium Brand Partners, which has the largest stake, this is the first restaurant the company has invested in. The other new owners are also franchise partners at Wingstop and Five Guys.

Several other trends have also helped make California Pizza Kitchen an attractive business again. Consortium says it retains strong brand loyalty, and the casual dining model has started to see great success as it becomes more competitive from a value standpoint with fast food and fast casual spots, which have seen increased prices due to inflation. So, if you were disappointed to see a nearby CPK close down, you may be getting a new one soon.