GOURMET PIZZA IN A FLASH; THOUSAND OAKS TO GET CPK ASAP.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

It's California Pizza Kitchen junior.

On July 17, the Los Angeles-based gourmet pizza restaurant chain will open CPK ASAP at the Promenade at Westlake mall in Thousand Oaks.

At 2,000 square feet, CPK ASAP will be half the size of a traditional California Pizza Kitchen restaurant, with a more limited menu but faster service.

The idea is to cater to customers who want food fast, but not fast food.

``There's a big demand for a quicker dining experience than what casual dining has to offer,'' said Larry Flax, CPK's co-founder.

Last summer, California Pizza Kitchen opened two 600-square-foot CPK ASAPs at Los Angeles International Airport. Flax hopes to open 10 locations of both sizes in 1998.

Opening restaurants in alternative locations is a growing trend in the food service industry, said Caitlin Storhaug, spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association in Washington.

Wolfgang Puck's Cafe has an express restaurant at LAX, and Daily Grill, another well-regarded Los Angeles-based restaurant, is opening a small offshoot in LAX as well. T.G.I. Friday's has opened locations at airports nationwide, Storhaug said.

``Instead of waiting for the customer to come to you, they are going to go where the customers are,'' such as malls and airports, she said.

This trend started as early as the 1970s, when mall food courts started appearing, Storhaug said. But it has taken on a new twist by going into airports, university campuses and alternative locations as competition has heated up.