Question: What do you call a lawyer who likes cheese better than court?

Answer: A California Pizza Kitchen owner!

It's true! Back in 1985, two young U.S. Federal prosecutors by the names of Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfeld were all but totally disgusted with making a living working inside the judicial system in California. One day in court, after the two law firm partners felt they had made a compelling case for the prosecution of a serious criminal, the jury was still unable to reach a verdict. In complete frustration, the two decided to leave the legal profession to seek what turned out to be not only a rewarding career, but a very tasty one as well.

The two ex-lawyers got their business idea from a famous master chef in Hollywood who was known for creating pizzas with unusual toppings. The two new, soon-to-be entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to bring innovative pizza to the mass market. In the spirit of New York and Chicago style pizza, the first California Pizza Kitchen was opened in Beverly Hills and turned out to be an immediate success. However, getting the start-up capital was a challenge.

Rick tells the story this way. "We started out by putting in $250,000 from our law practice, and we thought we'd be able to borrow the rest. But too many people were saying things like, "Two lawyers going into the pizza business? That's crazy!" The bankers were mortified." Larry ads that, "Unfortunately, we way underestimated what the restaurant was going to cost us. So, we decided to see if we could entice any friends into this. We made 23 calls to family and friends, got 22 yeses, and raised an additional $300,000.00!"

Although CPK incurred some significant debt in the first few years, sales of its pizza were steadily increasing. The company's big break came in 1989, when the same fellow from Las Vegas who helped get Cirque du Soleil off the ground, the flamboyant casino mogul, Steve Wynn, struck a deal with the two ex-lawyers turned pizza makers, and put a CPK in the Mirage Hotel and Casino. The new Las Vegas restaurant garnered $5.5 million it's first year, and the publicity opened the way for more CPK's in other parts of the country.

In 1992, PepsiCo Inc., bought a 50%, and later increased it to a 67% interest in CPK. The deal was finalized for $97 million, with Flax and Rosenfield receiving $20 million apiece, while remaining in control of the day to day operations and expansion of the pizza chain. A part of PepsiCo's motivation in joining up with CPK was to learn how customer service at CPK produced such amazing success. PepsiCo wanted to copy what they would learn over into all the other restaurant chains they owned. That turned out to be a nice deal for the two ex-lawyers who got unlimited capital for expansion, in exchange for teaching others how to do customer service.

Part of the reason Flax and Rosenfeld had such a low turnover in their customer service staff, was because they were dedicated to improving the pay scale and benefits of their workers, securing a $2.3 million deal from PepsiCo in special compensation and bonuses for their employees. In only 10 years, CPK was operating 78 restaurants in 18 states, bringing in sales that blasted beyond the $120 million dollar mark. Today, CPK has over 250 locations in 33 states and 11 countries. Annual reports of revenue are around $677 million and continue to increase every year, despite a down economy.

Think about it. If two lawyers can master customer service, you have no excuse but to deliver gold-plated service to everyone you serve!

Solid Gold Performance...

Get Customers. Keep Customers. Make Money. It doesn't take a law degree to understand the 3 Golden Laws of Business!

How Did CPK Become a Gold Mine? By Superior:

Operations...     Talent...     Innovation Management...

Click on Function... Insert a Do It in your Strategic Plan... then Just DO IT!

Your Thoughts and Observations...

"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." ~ Harriet Woods