CPK Co-Founder Would Open in Florida, Not California, Citing $20 Minimum Wage

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 19

Rick Rosenfield said that if he were starting California Pizza Kitchen today, he would choose Florida over California because it is "very business friendly" and has less bureaucracy.
A $20-an-hour fast-food minimum wage that took effect in California on April 1, 2024, along with labor shortages, regulation and other rising costs, has made the state far less attractive for restaurant operators, he said.
Restaurant margins are already thin: food and labor consume about 33 cents of every sales dollar, other operating costs take roughly 29%, and the average pre-tax margin is around 5%, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Florida's pitch is backed by business formation data—561,143 new domestic LLCs were filed in 2025, the fifth straight year above 500,000—while Rosenfield, who moved there two years ago, said entrepreneurs are gravitating to the state.
California still remains an economic powerhouse, Rosenfield said, but he argued that business-unfriendly policies risk pushing companies and future founders elsewhere; Newsom's office replied that CPK is still headquartered in California and nearly half its U.S. restaurants are there.