Roman-Style Pizza Restaurant To Open In Palisades Village

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — An upstart pizza restaurant from the co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen will soon call the Palisades Village home. ROCA, a hybrid pizza spot that looks to blend Roman and Californian cuisine, announced they will open two permanent locations on the Westside, with a space at Waterside at Marina del Rey along with the Village.

ROCA was created by Rick Rosenfield, co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen, and his wife Esther. The restaurant made its debut through a pop up at the Americana at Brand in Glendale in May

Owners of ROCA said a previous vacation to Rome provided the inspiration for the medley, after the Rosenfields fell in love with the freshness and crispiness of their pizza.

“I have always been a lover of pizza — whether it’s deep dish in my hometown, crispy New York-style, [or] California’s creative interpretations — but when I tried ‘al taglio’ for the first time in Rome a decade ago, I knew it was something I wanted to bring to the States and elevate with California’s fresh ingredients,” Rick Rosenfield told National Restaurant News. “We’re really proud of our product and have dedicated years to its development down to each individual source: the organic flour dough, the California tomatoes, the specialty cheeses.”

The restaurant is expected to open in 2022.