Renovated California Pizza Kitchen Returns

The restaurant chain best known for unlikely--albeit tasty--pizza topping combos is returning to Studio City, bringing Thai chicken and BLT pies back to the pizza proletariat.

The California Pizza Kitchen at 12265 Ventura Blvd., closed in early 1995 due to earthquake damage, will resume business Monday--offering pasta, salads and . . . you know . . . to the East Valley.

After a $250,000 renovation, the restaurant is the same size--4,580 square feet--as before, said spokeswoman Sarah Goldsmith, but the ambience has changed slightly.

The clean and bright eatery with big mirrors, shiny chrome and a yellow, black and white color scheme has a softer decor, but is still “very clean,” she said.

Following a successful test at a New York CPK, there will be softer lighting, light wood accents, carpeting and fewer mirrors. All new sites in the chain will follow suit, she said.

The location, which seats 106, returns with about 13 of its original 60 employees. Many waiters, cooks and hosts went to one of the seven other CPKs in the Valley.

The reopening “will make a lot of our customers happy,” predicted co-founder Larry Flax.