CPK to roll out smaller units for urban markets

Nation's Restaurant News, August 3, 1998 by Milford Prewitt

He said an in-house campaign to be introduced later this year will offer customers a chance to win 10 shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus for $1,000 apiece. Another internal promotion will give customers a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Ritz-Carlton in Maui.

"We don't have any television efficiencies in any market right now," he said. "But that's OK, because I don't believe that CPK is a mass media concept anyway. I'd rather use direct means to motivate our customers vs. mass media."

Hipp said accepting the job at CPK was one of the easiest decisions in his career.

He said he had known the principals at BRS & Co. for nearly 10 years and respected Valenti. But even more, he said he was a major fan of CPK as a customer.

Harold Rosser, the BRS principal who recommended Hipp for the job, did not return phone calls. "It was one of my favorite restaurants on the road," he said. "In fact, we [Houlihan's] shared a few comparable locations with them.

"Think of a brand that you love, and then one day someone asks you to run it. That's what this was like."

Hipp said there were some major corporate cultural differences between Houlihan's and CPK. While he called Houlihan's a strong chain, he said the fact that co-founders Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield remained active in the company was a strong motivator.

Meanwhile, Hipp said that even if the economy softens, CPK is positioned to keep growing.

"The gourmet pizza segment is limited, and I think we own it and do a great job," he said. "But I think it just doesn't sound right to say we have no competitors. What we do have is an innovative product stream and a value image in an upscale environment, and that makes us different."