Photo courtesy of @CPK on Instagram.

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) has permanently closed its Preston Center location. A longtime pizzeria in the neighborhood serving California-based deluxe pies, a spokesperson for the chain confirmed the closure, Culture Map reports.

A voice recording on the chain’s phone also confirms the restaurant’s closing and suggests visiting their other locations. However, three other CPK locations have reopened after COVID-19 closures, including Stonebriar Mall in Frisco, Willow Bend Mall in Plano and Grapevine. After almost 30 years, there is no longer a CPK in the city of Dallas.

CPK has changed the way we look at pizza, Culture Map says. Inspired by Spago, a revolutionary Beverly Hills pizzeria from chef Wolfgang Puck, lawyers Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax founded the chain in 1985.

Wanting a scaleable and mainstream pizzeria they could expand, Rosenfield and Flax convinced pizza legend Ed LaDou to leave Spago and design their dream menu. Rosenfield and Flax wanted upscale combinations and ingredients that have never been served on pizza before, like CPK’s special barbecue chicken pizza. CPK was also the first pizzeria to market “cheeseless”pizza and whole wheat crust. The chain’s latest innovation is the cauliflower-based crust.

The Original barbecue chicken pizza. Photo courtesy of @CPK on Instagram.

Other than pizza, CPK has always served salads, pasta and appetizers; but they have also followed trends while maintaining traditional options. Their current menu includes Mexican street corn and Buffalo cauliflower.

Dallas now has a booming pizza market, including chains like Fireside Pies, Cane Rosso, Zoli’s, Modern Market and Sixty Vines. Still, Culture Map insists that before CPK’s opening in Preston Center in 1993, the pizza scene “was all garbage.”

The Preston Center CPK had a semi-sophisticated atmosphere with tons of tables, booths and a popular bar. The ambiance was perfect for any occasion–whether it be a meeting, family dinner, date or a solo night at the bar.

In April 2020, the chain was looking to restructure debt to avoid filing for bankruptcy due to the pandemic.