OUR STORY

ROCA is the latest creation of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) Co-founder Rick Rosenfield and his wife Esther, who became enamored with a Roman-style street food while on vacation in Rome. They were stuck by the uniqueness of the crispy crust, light airy top and freshness of the ingredients, saw the natural synergy with the abundance of fresh farm to table ingredients available in California, and decided to bring their reimagined version to their home state. According to Rick, ‘At CPK, we always said that pizza is a canvas you can paint on and now Roman-style pizza creates the perfect canvas for today because its unique crust allows it to retain its quality when you reheat it at home.’

Rick and Esther have a long history in the restaurant and hospitality business. After meeting on a flight, when Rick was practicing law and Esther was a flight attendant, leading to their marriage, Rick traded the courtroom for the kitchen and together with his law partner, Larry Flax, launched CPK in Beverly Hills, CA, introducing barbecue chicken pizza to the world!

After 25 years of co-leading CPK to its position as an industry leader and global brand, Rick, along with Esther, developed and operated the well-acclaimed and popular seafood-centric Bottlefish in Brentwood. While Bottlefish was a victim of the coronavirus pandemic, the restaurant had a very loyal customer base and was recognized by USA Today as one of the top 10 seafood restaurants in the United States and was awarded the Open Table Diners Choice Award as one of the top 10 seafood restaurants in Los Angeles.

Esther and Rick have a lifetime commitment to the community. From the inception of CPK and the creation of the CPK Foundation to the present, they have always seen the notion of giving back as a guiding principle.