California Pizza Kitchen opened its first restaurant In Beverly Hills in 1985. Almost immediately after the first location opened, it expanded from California to more than 250 locations in more than 30 states and 11 countries. California Pizza Kitchen completed an initial public offering in August 2000 and traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the ticker symbol CPKI. On July 7, 2011, Golden Gate Capital completed the acquisition of California Pizza Kitchen and, as a result of the acquisition, the company's common stock is no longer publicly traded