California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is opening one of its “Next Chapter” locations in Irvine on Wednesday.

This will be the first remodel built from the ground up in Orange County. The redesigned restaurants emphasize hand-tossed pizzas, hand-shaken cocktails, seasonal entree dishes, a wider variety of lunch combos, flexible seating and decor that reflects the local community.

In Irvine, the chain has added artwork from local landmarks, such as the Great Park Balloon and Irvine Spectrum’s Giant Wheel. Some of the California brews on tap will be the Rocco Red by Fullerton-based Bootlegger’s Brewery and Central Coast’s Firestone 805.

New dishes, which come with a guarantee, include fire-grilled ribeye and hearth-roasted halibut.

“If a guest tries a new dish and is not satisfied, it will be replaced with his or her favorite item from the CPK menu,” the company said.

CPK at Alton Square is one of roughly 80 restaurants across the country that have adopted the chain’s new look and menu this year.

Local Next Chapter restaurants are in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Brea, Anaheim, Seal Beach, Santa Ana, Laguna Hills and Tustin. Other stores in Mission Viejo and the Irvine Spectrum are on track for remodels in late September and early October, respectively. The Irvine restaurant opening next week is at 5465 Alton Parkway (formerly El Cholo). When it opens, CPK will have 11 locations in Orange County.

CPK first landed in Orange County in 1988 when it opened its seventh chainwide location at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cpk-679215-new-one.html