The guy who co-founded California Pizza Kitchen just told his home state to kick rocks, and honestly, it's kind of hilarious when the founder of a restaurant literally named after your state says he'd rather set up shop somewhere else.
Rick Rosenfield, who helped launch the beloved pizza chain four decades ago, told Fox News Digital that if he were starting over today, he'd pick Florida over California without hesitation. As The American Tribune reported, Rosenfield described the Sunshine State as incredibly welcoming to businesses while calling California considerably less so. He didn't mince words either, saying the state makes its hostility toward entrepreneurs pretty obvious.
Now here's where it gets good. Rosenfield remembers the old days when California was, in his words, the greatest place to run a company. Perfect weather year round, fantastic workforce, phenomenal demographics. The only thing that kept him awake at night? Snowstorms hitting malls on weekends and hurting sales. That was literally his biggest worry. Those were simpler times, folks.
But then COVID happened, and apparently California decided to speedrun its way into becoming the least attractive state for business owners. Labor shortages popped up everywhere, regulations multiplied like rabbits, and costs went through the roof. Oh, and let's not forget the $20.00 minimum wage for fast food workers that kicked in during April 2024. Because nothing says "please stay" quite like forcing restaurants to dramatically inflate their labor budgets.
Rosenfield pointed out what literally every economics textbook has explained since the dawn of commerce: when you jack up costs for businesses, those businesses pass them along to customers. Revolutionary stuff, apparently, for California lawmakers. "You raise minimum wage, businesses have to respond," he explained, probably wondering why this needs explaining at all.
He's not alone in his frustration either. Major corporations like Chevron, Oracle, and Tesla have already packed their bags and relocated headquarters to friendlier states. When Elon Musk thinks your state is too difficult, you might have a problem.
Rosenfield himself relocated to Florida two years ago, praising its reduced bureaucracy compared to the regulatory jungle that California has apparently become.
But the absolute cherry on top of this whole saga? Governor Gavin Newsom's response. When asked to address Rosenfield's criticisms, his office fired back with this absolute gem: "Florida Pizza Kitchen doesn't have the same ring to it." They also noted pride in the chain being headquartered in California, with roughly half its locations still operating there.
That's right. The Governor of California responded to legitimate concerns about his state's hostile business environment with a dad joke about the restaurant's name. Somewhere, a communications staffer high fived themselves over that one. Problem solved, everyone. Pack it up. The pizza pun fixed everything.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
