California Pizza KitchenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A California Pizza Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.3M – $6.9M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $2.3M – $6.9M
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 148
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $2.3M – $6.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 70/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- CPK Franchise Inc.
- Parent company
- CPK Holdings Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Jeff Warne
- CEO experience
- 12 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 575 Anton Blvd., Suite 100, Costa Mesa, California 92626
- Auditor
- Moss Adams LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.3M
- vs $3.9M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate upscale casual dining restaurants serving California-style gourmet pizzas, pastas, and contemporary American cuisine. Daily operations include kitchen management, server/bartender oversight, inventory control, and customer service across typically 2,000–3,500 sq ft locations requiring full-service restaurant infrastructure and staffing (50–100+ employees).
- CEO
- Jeff Warne
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 6
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 38 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (New CPK Restaurant) | $50K | $50K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements (New) | $1.5M | $5.0M | |
| Architects and Design (New) | $150K | $240K | |
| Signs (New) | $15K | $50K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures (New) | $47K | $100K | |
| POS System, Back Office Technology and Software (New) | $35K | $100K | |
| Equipment and Security Systems (New) | $300K | $500K | |
| Lease Deposit (New) | $15K | $25K | |
| Lease Rent (3 months) (New) | $35K | $150K | |
| Utility Deposits (New) | $10K | $30K | |
| Licenses and Permits (New) | $5K | $20K | |
| Liquor License (New) | $10K | $200K | |
| Professional Fees (New) | $5K | $25K | |
| Initial Food Inventory (New) | $12K | $20K | |
| Initial Supplies and Non-Food Inventory (New) | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance (New) | $10K | $15K | |
| Training Expenses (New) | $20K | $50K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing (New) | $10K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Working Capital) (New) | $100K | $350K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Conversion Restaurant) | $50K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $3.3M | $11.8M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.3M – $6.9M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $350K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $950 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How California Pizza Kitchen Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 148
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 133
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 10%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 169
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Material lack of financial transparency (no Item 19) combined with flat unit growth and high capital requirements creates unquantifiable ROI risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $50,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
bankruptcy protection seeking a Chapter 11 reorganization. The bankruptcy was discharged on March 3, 2021. In re Perkins and Marie Callender’s, LLC, (Case No. 19-11743) U.S. Bankruptcy Ct. District of Delaware. Our President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Warne, previously served as Chief Executi
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Moss Adams LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 70 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess ROI or payback period on $2.3M–$6.9M investment
- 02MINORUnit count stalled at 148 with unknown/likely flat growth — suggests mature or contracting system
- 03MINORHigh capital requirement ($2.3M–$6.9M) with no revenue benchmarks creates severe information asymmetry
- 04MED5% royalty on undisclosed revenue base — cannot validate sustainability of franchisor support model
- 05HIGHGoing Concern classification FALSE — potential ambiguity in financial stability signals
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 176 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 352 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- NCR Aloha POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
15 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
California Pizza Kitchen · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a California Pizza Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a California Pizza Kitchen franchise ranges from $2.3M – $6.9M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do California Pizza Kitchen franchise owners earn?
California Pizza Kitchen does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is California Pizza Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for California Pizza Kitchen (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many California Pizza Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, California Pizza Kitchen has 148 total units in the United States, including 15 franchised units and 133 company-owned units.
Is California Pizza Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates California Pizza Kitchen as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 70 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.