EDMONTON -- Thirty-five years after opening its first restaurant in Beverly Hills, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is expanding into Canada.
The first Canadian location will open in Edmonton in 2020, and will be the first of five franchises to open in Alberta over the next eight years.
"Canada is a country I know quite well, and it's just next door. So many people from Canada come in the winter, or even the summer, and they know CPK very well," Giorgio Minardi, executive vice president of global development, told CTV News Edmonton in an interview from Madrid.
"We did quite some touring. We weren't looking to go into Ontario quite yet, because we wanted to make sure we started from outside, and so it was either British Columiba or Vancouver, or Calgary and Edmonton."
CPK is partnering with Alberta restaurateur Samira Shariff and her son Naheed Shariff who will serve as the CEO of the Alberta branch of the company.
Minardi said CPK had a franchise arrangement drawn with the pair within six months.
"They have the same type of cultures we have, so we connected quite quickly."
“We couldn’t be more excited and proud to be partnering with California Pizza Kitchen as their first franchisee to bring the brand to Canada,” Naheed Shariff said in a written release. “We think CPK’s creative California vibe and innovative menu will resonate with Albertans and offer something completely new in the market.”
Minardi said the first location to open would be a storefront – but he wouldn't reveal where.
"It'll be a true CPK at heart, and hopefully the customers can experience a bit of California also in Edmonton."
CPK's menu features California-style pizzas – including its "industry-first" cauliflower pizza crust – salads, power bowls and more.
There are currently 240 locations in the United States and around the world. The company is also working to expand in Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Europe.
