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, announced today the opening of its seventh location in Mexico. The new restaurant, another opened by CPK franchise partner Grupo Calpik, S.A.P.I. de C.V., is the first to open in Cancun, Quintana Roo.

The new 6,500 square-foot restaurant seats approximately 250 people and is located inside the new wing of Malecon Americas, home to over 230 retail stores, high-rise condominiums, a premier business hotel and corporate center. The new California Pizza Kitchen is in close proximity to the shopping mall’s popular anchor outlets including Liverpool and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as the Cinepolis movie theater and ice-skating rink.

Tastefully decorated with warm colors and rich textures, the restaurant will open Monday through Wednesday from 12:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Thursday through Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

The open-exhibition kitchen takes center stage where guests can watch as all of California Pizza Kitchen’s innovative creations are prepared. The menu features a wide variety of items including everything from the popular Avocado Club Eggrolls and Waldorf Chicken Salad to the Kung Pao Spaghetti and Carne Asada Pizza.

Using only the highest quality fresh produce and U.S. imported ingredients prepared daily, all California Pizza Kitchen pizzas are hearth-baked in an imported open-flame pizza oven.

The new Cancun location is the seventh California Pizza Kitchen restaurant in Mexico. Other CPK restaurants are located in Guadalajara and the following suburbs of Mexico City: Lomas Verdes, Bosques de Las Lomas, Polanco District, Santa Fe, and Satelite.

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., founded in 1985, is a leading casual dining chain featuring an imaginative line of hearth-baked pizzas, including the original BBQ Chicken Pizza, and a broad selection of distinctive pastas, salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts. Of the chain’s 254 restaurants, 208 are company-owned and 46 operate under franchise or license agreements. There are currently 28 restaurants located internationally in China, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, South Korea, Guam, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates. CPK premium pizzas are also available to sports and entertainment fans at two Southern California venues, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and STAPLES Center. Also included in the company’s portfolio of concepts is LA Food Show Grill & Bar, which has locations in Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills, California. The company also has a licensing arrangement with Kraft Pizza Company, which manufactures and distributes a line of California Pizza Kitchen premium frozen pizzas. For more details, visit www.cpk.com.