California Pizza Kitchen Roars Into Fresno; Chaffee Zoo to Benefit from All Pizza Sales on October 7.

Business Editors

FRESNO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002

The much-anticipated arrival of the first California Pizza Kitchen (NASDAQ:CPKI) in Central California will take place on September 29th. The new full-service restaurant in Fresno will enjoy a central location at one of the city's most popular and premier shopping destinations, the Villaggio Retail Center.

The Villaggio Center is a specialty retail area featuring boutique shops, restaurants, services, and a multi-cinema theater complex, situated on the corner of Nees Avenue and Blackstone Avenue.

To celebrate the grand opening, California Pizza Kitchen will donate 100 percent of pizza sales to the Fresno Zoo Society, which will allocate a portion of these funds to enhance its "Zoo School." This innovative program makes it possible for local schools to move entire classrooms to the Zoo for a week.

"We are so pleased to work with a company that shares our dedication to children and their families. The Chaffee Zoo is a place where families make memories, and with the help of California Pizza Kitchen and its funding of our Zoo School, we will be able to boost the number of children who will get to know and appreciate over 720 animals -- including 70 endangered species -- first hand," said Susan Karby, executive director of the Fresno Zoo Society. "We welcome California Pizza Kitchen to Central California and extend our sincerest appreciation for their generosity."

The Chaffee Zoological Gardens house a nationally accredited zoo and botanical gardens in California's great San Joaquin Valley. The zoo is famous for its presentation of Ross Laird's "Winged Wonders Bird Show," the new Sunda Forest (home to orangutans, tigers, and siamangs), its Tropical Rain Forest, and Reptile House.

"We are happy to support the remarkable Chaffee Zoo as we celebrate the opening of our first California Pizza Kitchen in Fresno," said Fred Hipp, president and CEO of California Pizza Kitchen.

As CPK customers have come to expect and enjoy, the Fresno restaurant will feature an exhibition kitchen, light woods, and colorful pizza box art on the walls -- all signatures of the California Pizza Kitchen contemporary decor. The restaurant is just over 5,000 square feet with nearly 200 seats. Lunch and dinner will be served daily.

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., founded in 1985, is a leading casual dining chain in the premium pizza segment. The chain operates, licenses or franchises 143 restaurants of which 111 are company owned, and 32 operate under franchise or license agreements. The California Pizza Kitchen website is www.cpk.com.