California Pizza Kitchen founder says California has become too difficult for entrepreneurs
'If it were me today, I would open in Florida before I would open it in California,' Rosenfield said
Rachel Wolf By Rachel Wolf Fox News
Published July 19, 2026 8:00am EDT
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California Pizza Kitchen brought the Golden State's dining culture to Americans across the country for decades. More than 40 years later, one of the chain's co-founders says that if he had to start over, he wouldn't necessarily pick California.
"If it were me today, I would open in Florida before I would open it in California," California Pizza Kitchen co-founder Rick Rosenfield told Fox News Digital. "I think it has a lot going for it. The difference is [it's] very business friendly and California is less business friendly today, and they make it apparent."
Rosenfield said that when he and California Pizza Kitchen co-founder Larry Flax started the restaurant chain, the business environment in California was "really good." In fact, Rosenfield told Fox News Digital that decades ago he would've said that "California is the greatest place to do business."
"We have 365 days a year of great weather. We have a great labor base, great demographics, great densities. And people would say, 'What keeps you up at night?' I would say, 'A snowstorm in the winter on a weekend for the malls,' right? That's not true today," he said.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/california-pizza-kitchen-founder-says-california-become-too-difficult-entrepreneurs
