The chain's sales rose 17.6% during the March quarter to hit $129.7 million. The restaurateur achieved a 6.4% spike in comps, which is even more impressive when you consider that those results are stacked on top of a 9.3% spurt in same-unit sales a year earlier.
The comps came in stronger than the 5% to 6% showing that the company had forecast back in February. California Pizza Kitchen will wait until its actual quarterly report next month to announce earnings, but it did raise guidance to $0.22 to $0.23 a share. The original target was a penny lower.
If you've never been to a California Pizza Kitchen, it's probably best described as Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) meets Papa John's (NASDAQ:PZZA) -- pizzas with exotic toppings like caramelized pears or grilled Japanese eggplant share the menu with pastas, salads, and other entree offerings. In other words, this isn't your typical slice-and-a-soda-for-$3 pizzeria. The average check is $12.83 per person.
Despite the "Pizza" in the moniker, you really can't compare the company to other pie tossers like Domino's (NYSE:DPZ), Papa John's, or YUM's (NYSE:YUM) Pizza Hut. California Pizza Kitchen falls into the more finicky casual dining space, and that's why the company's healthy financial trends should be appetizing even for investors who avoid restaurant stocks in general.
Whether or not you decide to avoid the Japanese eggplant -- that's another story.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz enjoys CPK's Thai pizza. He does own shares in Cheesecake Factory. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
