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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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California Pizza Kitchen's ASAP concept picks Kailua location
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ALIFORNIA Pizza Kitchen Inc. is expanding its fast- casual CPK/ASAP concept to Hawaii, with a location in Kailua tentatively set to open in November.
The company has signed a lease with Kaneohe Ranch Co. for the space in Kailua Town Center's Kainalu Plaza between Pier 1 and Cold Stone Creamery.
Kaneohe Ranch President and Chief Executive Mitch D'Olier said he is "pretty excited," about the deal. "We had been working on this for some time.
"I can't wait to start telling Kailua residents that we got it."
People have been calling and e-mailing him, making suggestions about attracting this or that restaurant to the area, "and CPK was at the top of the list," he said.
It will be "Kailua-sized," D'Olier said -- at 2,700 square feet inside with 600 square feet of outdoor seating.
CPK/ASAP stores have a much smaller footprint than the typical full-service California Pizza Kitchen restaurants. Of Hawaii's Kahala Mall, Pearlridge Center and Ala Moana Center locations, the latter is among the larger full-service restaurants in the chain.
CPK/ASAP serves a limited menu of the most popular California Pizza Kitchen dishes including pizzas, salads, hot panini sandwiches and soups. There will be seating for about 80 customers, but the bulk of the business is expected to be take out.
"The CPK/ASAP concept is an excellent way for us to serve our great CPK food in a more convenient way to those looking for a quick, fresh meal," said Larry Flax, co-founder and CEO, in a statement. "We are thrilled with the new CPK/ASAP location in Kailua and look forward to expanding the concept."
There are 24 CPK/ASAP eateries, with 23 on the mainland and one in the Philippines.
It will provide not only employment, but career advancement opportunities for Windward residents, D'Olier said.
"Like many great (restaurant) concepts, CPK has opportunities in a lot of different markets," he said. During the decision-making process, "we had the opportunity to meet with their staff members who work in Hawaii, and a number live in Kailua, and they were cheering for us on the inside of the CPK operation."
D'Olier said he is hopeful that "we don't have 40 days and 40 nights of rain," so that construction can stay on track for an opening before the end of the year.
The Waikiki location of CPK, first reported about in this space in November 2004, will not open in the summer as initially planned, but should open before the end of the year.
At the time it was reported, the company had just signed a lease for about 7,000 square feet of second-floor space in Consolidated Theatre's Waikiki redevelopment project.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com