The Cheesecake Factory
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: CAKE | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founder | Evelyn Overton Oscar Overton David Overton |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 151 restaurants |
Key people | David Overton (Chairman and CEO) Michael Jannini (President) |
| Products | Types of Cheesecakes (White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, Pumpkin, Coconut Chocolate Cream), Burgers, Pizza, Pasta, Steaks, Sandwiches. |
| Revenue |  $1.757 billion (2011)[1] |
| $133 million (2011)[1] | |
| $95.7 million (2011)[1] | |
Number of employees | 38,800 (2016)  |
| Website | Official Site |
The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a distributor of cheesecakes in the United States. It is also a restaurant company. The company operates 175 full-service dining restaurants: 165 under The Cheesecake Factory marque, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe marque and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen marque. The Cheesecake Factory also operates two bakery production facilities—one in Calabasas, California and the other in Rocky Mount, North Carolina—and licenses two bakery-based menus for other food service operators under The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe marque. The company used to operate one self-service, limited-menu express food service operation under The Cheesecake Factory marque inside the DisneyQuest family entertainment center in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.[2] Its cheesecakes and other baked goods can also be found in the cafes of many Barnes & Noble book stores.
David M. Overton, the company's founder, opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978. The restaurant established the future chain's pattern of offering an eclectic menu, big portions, and signature cheesecakes.[3]
History of The Cheesecake Factory
History
The Cheesecake Factory was founded by Oscar and Evelyn Overton. Evelyn first decided to open a business after making a cheesecake for her husband's employer in 1949. Evelyn opened a small cheesecake shop in Detroit, Michigan, in the late 1950s, but later gave it up in order to raise her two children. She continued to supply cakes to several local restaurants through a kitchen in her basement. In 1972, Oscar and Evelyn Overton moved to the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles where they opened a wholesale bakery in which they produced cheesecakes and other desserts for local restaurants.[4]
California
In 1978, Evelyn's son David Overton opened a small salad-and-sandwich restaurant in Beverly Hills which sold 10 different varieties of Overton’s cheesecakes on their one-page menu.[4]
In 1983, the Overtons opened a second restaurant in Marina del Rey. By 1987 the Beverly Hills location had expanded into a 78-seat restaurant and was experiencing great financial success. This led to the opening of a third, larger location in Redondo Beach, which was eventually renovated into a 300-seat, 21,000 square foot location. By the end of the 1980s, The Cheesecake Factory’s one-page menu had expanded and the restaurant offered additional fast-food and short-order items.[4]
Expansion beyond Southern California
The 1990s saw the opening of the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant outside of Southern California. The new restaurant was located in Washington, D.C. The Cheesecake Factory was incorporated in 1992 and went public September 1993. David Overton planned to open 3-4 units a year in the hopes of generating 25% a year increase in sales.[4]
The company began changing the menu twice a year and added further items including steaks and seafood as well as vegetarian dishes. The company continued to open new restaurants, and by 1995, the chain was ranked 11th in the United States.[clarification needed] As of April 2013, The Cheesecake Factory corporation operates 162 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory name in 36 states.[5]
International expansion
On January 25, 2011, the company expanded into the Middle East in a partnership with Kuwaiti retail franchising company M.H. Alshaya Co.. The 300-seat restaurant opened on August 16, 2012, at the Dubai Mall. This is the first location for The Cheesecake Factory outside of the United States. As of March 4, 2013, the Cheesecake Factory Inc. has four restaurants operating in the Middle East, one being located at the Dubai Mall and another at the Mall of the Emirates (both in the UAE), the third in The Avenues Mall, Kuwait, and the fourth in Beirut.[6] Plaza Las Américas in San Juan, Puerto Rico opened its first Cheesecake Factory in the Caribbean on August 28, 2013.[7]
Other restaurants
The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe operates two bakery production facilities, and licenses two bakery-based menus to other food service operators. This division operates in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Grand Lux Cafe David Overton designed the Grand Lux Cafe, a restaurant for The Venetian hotel-casino in Las Vegas. The restaurant is modeled after Italian, French, and Austrian styles. The Cafe offers, in addition to American and European-style food, Thai, Malaysian, Caribbean cuisine, and others. The Cheesecake Factory operates thirteen Grand Lux Cafe restaurants.
RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen is a contemporary Asian-fusion restaurant which opened on June 19, 2008, at Century City in Los Angeles. David Overton excluded Chinese and Japanese cuisines from the menu, as these are served at the Grand Lux and Cheesecake Factory restaurants.
Controversies
The Cheesecake Factory has been criticized for their heavy promotion of large servings of high calorie and high fat foods, and a corresponding lack of healthy menu options. For these reasons, the chain was dubbed the "worst family restaurant in America" for 2010 by Men's Health magazine.[8] The average sandwich at the restaurant contains 1,400 calories.[9] In 2013, the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that The Cheesecake Factory's "Crispy Chicken Costoletta" has more calories (2,610) than a 12-piece bucket of fried chicken from KFC and The Cheesecake Factory's "Bistro Shrimp Pasta" dish had more calories than any other entrée from a national chain restaurant at 3,120 calories, with 89 grams of saturated fat.[10] The United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion states in its dietary guidelines that a typical adult should consume about 2,000 calories and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day.
In popular culture
A fictional version of The Cheesecake Factory is used as a setting in the U.S. sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The show's portrayal of the restaurant, however, is not visually accurate to the real Cheesecake Factory. According to the company, it "does not have any sort of arrangements with the show. The Cheesecake Factory is really pleased to be featured in such a funny and wildly popular show".[11]
References
- ^ a b c "The Cheesecake Factory Reports Results for Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2006" (Press release). Cheesecake Factory. 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
- ^ Zanolla, Leah (26 March 2008). "Cheesecake Factory Express Leaving Downtown Disney".
- ^ ""What Is The Cheesecake Factory?" About Page on the company's website". Cheesecakefactory.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- ^ a b c d "History of The Cheesecake Factory". Funding Universe. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/Locations/locations#
- ^ Kowitt, Beth (February 25, 2013). "The Mystery Company Importing Americana to the Mideast". Fortune. 167 (3): 90–96.
- ^ http://es.plazalasamericas.com/news/the-cheesecake-factory-abrira-en-plaza-las-americas-en-el-2013/
- ^ Zinczenko, David (2010-11-19). "America's Best—and Worst!—Family Restaurants". Health.yahoo.net. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
- ^ By HealthiNation (2010-12-10). "Worst Foods in America, 2010". Health.yahoo.net. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
- ^ Xtreme Eating 2013: Extremism Running Amok at America's Restaurant Chains, Center for Science in the Public Interest, January 16, 2013, accessed January 18, 2013.
- ^ Owen, Rob (2012-01-13). "TV Q&A: ABC News, 'Storage Wars' and 'The Big Bang Theory.'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
