California Pizza Kitchen’s Post

We are thrilled to kick off our partnership with Iris and look forward to seeing the amazing work this collaboration will bring!

Rounding out the inaugural class of CPK’s Certified Training Restaurant (CTR) Program, we have standout restaurants stretching from coast to coast, just like our pizza toppings 😉 🍕   From California, to Florida, Maryland, and back, the Final Five (for now!) brought their A-game to each visit, delivering high-level operational execution, restaurant and training systems, and key metrics.   Let’s hear it for…..📢   ➡ CPK Tarzana, led by General Manager Vicky Pichayanon and Regional Partner Patrick Wood! ➡ CPK Palm Beach Gardens, led by General Manager Ashley Houska and Regional Partner Neal Higgins! ➡ CPK Stanford, led by General Manager Kyle Larrus and Regional Partner Eric Vazquez! ➡ CPK Bethesda, led by General Manager Hannah Rollins and CPK Hunt Valley, led by Leah Smith, both supported by Regional Partner Josh Kennelly!

April showers brought quite the May flower in the form of CPK Deer Park, another fantastic team to join the ranks as Certified Training Restaurant!! 🌻 🌴 CPK Deer Park Town Center, is led by General Manager Matthew Jurenci and Regional Partner Holly Paul. Two homegrown leaders, Holly & Matt know what it takes to deliver guest & culinary excellence at every turn – a strong culture within the restaurant. Congratulations, Team Deer Park!

Field Training Managers Spencer Gutierrez and Jeremy Phillips continued their tour throughout the month of April, adding five more Certified Training Restaurants after an extensive certification process.   The recipe to these restaurant’s success? ➡ 1 Cup Key Performance Indicators ➡ 1 Cup Successful Training Systems & Processes ➡ Equal Parts Guest & Culinary Excellence ➡ And a dash of CPK magic! 🌴 ✨ CONGRATULATIONS to….. 🍕 CPK Alton Square, led by General Manager Alma Hangartner and Regional Partner Sam Rogers! 🍕 CPK Atlantic Station, led by General Manager Aurelio Salazar and Regional Partner Shawn Mears! 🍕 CPK Carmel Mountain, led by General Manager Lisa Pergis and Regional Partner Stella Chimal! 🍕 CPK Lakewood, let by General Manage Molly Norton and Regional Partner Alex Montes! 🍕 CPK 7th Street, led by General Manager Carlos Dominguez and Regional Partner Steve Kwok!

A HUGE congratulations to CTR #1 – CPK Rancho Cucamonga led by GM Thomas Bergen. It was only fitting that you were the first CTR, a full circle story for leader and Senior Director of Operations Nicole Parsons who was GM of the location during its previous training tenure.   We are also celebrating… CPK Ala Moana (HI), led by General Manager Chad Kasahara and Senior Director of Operations Eddie Spencer! CPK Paramus (NJ), led by General Manager Robert Ferranti and CPK Walt Whitman (NY), led by General Manager Andrew LaBohm, both supported by Regional Partner Guilherme (William) Da Cruz!   Thank you to each team for welcoming us with open arms, affirming our standard for excellence, and having fun while doing it! 

We're very excited to *officially* launch the Certified Training Restaurant (CTR) Program at California Pizza Kitchen! CPK has long prided itself on best-in-class training & people development. Like our peers, we navigated challenges faced over the last few years, banding together, and doing what was necessary to ensure our newly hired managers were prepared to lead the business. However, a brand that counts pride, passion, and California creativity as defining characteristics always has something new cooking up 😊 A nod to our past, crafted for our present, and designed to sustain us well into the future, the CTR Program ventures to create a supportive & informative training environment for Managers-in-Training (MITs) to learn key restaurant and leadership skills. Join us this week as we highlight the 15 locations across the U.S. who we are proud to call Certified Training Restaurants!

On this day in 1985, we opened our doors in Beverly Hills, California and we've never looked back. An amazing journey of milestones and adventures, with many more to come! But first, time for butter cake!

Congrats to our Restaurant Support Center team members on being certified in CPR by the American Heart Association! We loved offering this life-saving class to all those who wanted to obtain or recertify their CPR training. 💛