California Pizza Kitchen Opens in Short Hills, New Jersey; Opening Will Benefit The Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation.

LOS ANGELES -- California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. (CPK) (Nasdaq:CPKI), home of the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza and other innovative hearth-baked pizzas, made-to-order pastas, creative salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts, opened its newest location in Short Hills, New Jersey today.

The 3,200 square-foot restaurant is located on the upper level of The Mall at Short Hills next to Saks Fifth Avenue. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Guests can dine-in or place a take-out order by calling [phone].

The menu features all of the CPK favorites, including the Thai Chicken Pizza, Jamaican Jerk Pizza, BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad and Shanghai Garlic Noodles. A full bar offers an extensive beverage menu with a great selection of wines along with more than 40 specialty drinks, including CPK's original California Cosmo, and an extensive list of martinis, margaritas and new cocktails.

The menu also includes recently introduced items such as the Grilled Vegetable Salad with a variety of grilled vegetables served warm over a bed of chilled Romaine lettuce in a Dijon balsamic vinaigrette; the Pepperoni Pomodoro Pizza, made with CPK's Italian pomodoro sauce with pepperoni, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses on a thin, crispy Neapolitan crust; The Greek Pizza, made with Mediterranean spiced grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese, topped with a chilled Greek salad; The Quattro Formaggi Pizza, made with CPK's Italian pomodoro sauce, smoked gouda, fontina and fresh mozzarella cheeses; Thai Curry Noodles, made with a spicy green Thai curry sauce and wok-stirred vegetables served on a bed of Chinese noodles.

Following CPK's tradition of giving back to the communities in which it operates, the new CPK restaurant will donate 100 percent of all pizza sales on Monday, August 21, 2006 to Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, an organization which brightens the lives of seriously ill children and their families through imaginative and resourceful programs and services that empower, educate and inspire. In addition to granting wishes for sick children, Starlight provides programs on hospital pediatric wards, funds special projects for hospitalized children and conducts a variety of outpatient activities.

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., founded in 1985, is a leading casual dining chain with 196 restaurants, of which 166 are company-owned and 30 operate under franchise or license agreements. The company's full-service restaurants feature an imaginative line of hearth-baked pizzas, including the original BBQ Chicken Pizza, and a broad selection of distinctive pastas, salads, soups and sandwiches. The company also has a licensing arrangement with Kraft Pizza Company, which manufactures and distributes a line of California Pizza Kitchen premium frozen pizzas. Children who dine at California Pizza Kitchen choose from an extensive menu, recently named "The Best Kids Menu in America" by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine. For more details, visit www.cpk.com.