California Pizza Kitchen Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.6M – $5.4M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
California Pizza Kitchen is a casual-dining franchise known for its inventive, oven-fired California-style pizzas, plus pastas and salads. Franchisees run full-service restaurants managing kitchen, bar, and service staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A California Pizza Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.6M – $5.4M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2026 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - the current year's filing
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.6M – $5.4M
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 121
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $1.6M – $5.4M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 70/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- CPK Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- CPK Holdings LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Convive PK Holdings LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- CPK Franchise Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jonathan Weber
- CEO experience
- 12 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 575 Anton Blvd., Suite 100, Costa Mesa, California 92626
- Auditor
- Moss Adams LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.5M
- vs $3.5M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jonathan Weber
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1985
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 7
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 413% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $1.0M | $3.5M | |
| Architects and Design | $75K | $175K | |
| Signs | $15K | $50K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $27K | $100K | |
| POS System, Back Office Technology and Software | $35K | $108K | |
| Equipment and Security Systems | $150K | $500K | |
| Lease Deposit | $15K | $25K | |
| Lease Rent (3 months) | $35K | $150K | |
| Utility Deposits | $10K | $30K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $5K | $20K | |
| Liquor License | $10K | $200K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $25K | |
| Initial Food Inventory | $12K | $20K | |
| Initial Supplies and Non-Food Inventory | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance | $10K | $15K | |
| Training Expenses | $20K | $50K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Program | $5K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Working Capital) | $100K | $350K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.6M | $5.4M |
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
- $1.6M – $5.4M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $350K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 0.1%
- 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 | $8K |
| Training fee | $20K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 0.1% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
California Pizza Kitchen makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one California Pizza Kitchen unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 0.1% — below the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Multi-unit rate
50% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How California Pizza Kitchen Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 121
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 107
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 12%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Not renewed
- 1
- 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
15 current owners across 6 states.
- CA 7
- HI 2
- MO 2
- NV 2
- TX 1
- UT 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
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)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (affiliate) and CPK Holdings (parent) filed Chapter 11 on July 29, 2020, discharged March 3, 2021. Separately, current CEO Jonathan Weber and CFO Penny Lindemann Smith previously led NPC International Inc., which filed Chapter 11 on July 1, 2020 and was dissolved.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Moss Adams LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY ended Dec 31, 2023. Total revenues $3,916,258 = royalty fees $3,903,044 + franchise fees $13,214. Net loss $(585,420). Auditor firm name not present in extracted text (logo only); report signed Los Angeles, CA, April 2, 2024.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 70 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count stalled at 148 with unknown/likely flat growth — suggests mature or contracting system
- 02MINORHigh capital requirement ($2.3M–$6.9M) with no revenue benchmarks creates severe information asymmetry
- 03MED5% royalty on undisclosed revenue base — cannot validate sustainability of franchisor support model
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 0.1% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Costa Mesa, California (location of franchisor's principal offices at time of filing) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 113 hrs
- Training location
- CPK Certified Training Restaurant or Restaurant Support Center (Costa Mesa, CA), or at franchisee's CPK Restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee proposes, franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR Aloha POS System / One-Dine
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha POS System / One-Dine
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
15 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
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 $1.6M – $5.4M, 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 makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns California Pizza Kitchen?
California Pizza Kitchen is franchised by CPK Franchise LLC. Its parent company is CPK Holdings LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Convive PK Holdings LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the California Pizza Kitchen FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the California Pizza Kitchen FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 121 total units in the United States, including 14 franchised units and 107 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is California Pizza Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates California Pizza Kitchen as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 70 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.
For franchisors
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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.