| Type | Public (NASDAQ: CAKE) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | As a bakery: Los Angeles, California, U.S. (1971) As a restaurant: Beverly Hills, California, U.S. (1978) |
| Founder(s) | David M. Overton |
| Headquarters | Calabasas Hills, California, U.S. |
| Number of locations | 151 restaurants |
| Key people | Russ Bendel, President and COO David Overton, Founder and CEO |
| Products | Types of Cheesecakes (White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, Pumpkin, Coconut Chocolate Cream), Burgers, Pizza, Pasta, Steaks, Sandwiches. |
| Revenue | US $1.32 billion (2006)[1] |
| Operating income | US $107 million (2006)[1] |
| Net income | US $81.3 million (2006)[1] |
| Subsidiaries | Grand Lux Cafe, LLC. |
| Website | Official Site |
The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAKE) is a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates 165 upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants: 151 under The Cheesecake Factory mark, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe mark and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark. The Cheesecake Factory also operates two bakery production facilities and licenses two limited menu bakery cafes under The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe mark to another foodservice operator.
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.[2]
The company used to operate one self-service, limited-menu express foodservice operation under The Cheesecake Factory Express marque inside the DisneyQuest family entertainment center in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Its cheesecakes and other baked goods can also be found in the cafes of many Barnes & Noble book stores.
In addition, it operates a bakery production facility in Calabasas, California, which produces baked desserts and other products for its restaurants and other foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors. A second bakery was opened in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in March 2006. The Rocky Mount plant handles the distribution for the eastern half of the United States.[3]
On January 25, 2011 Cheesecake Factory decided to expand to the Middle East after a deal with the Kuwaiti company M.H. Alshaya Co..[4]
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According to the company's website, the Cheesecake Factory had its beginnings with 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 1940s, but later gave it up in order to raise her two children, David and Renee. She continued to supply cakes to several local restaurants, however, through a kitchen in her basement.
By 1971, their children were now grown, and Oscar and Evelyn moved the business to Los Angeles, using the last of their savings to open a 700-square-foot (65 m2) store that bore the name "The Cheesecake Factory."
Evelyn would bake and manage the office while Oscar worked in sales and building new accounts.
The Overtons realized they needed a larger bakery, which they opened in 1975.
In 1978, David founded The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, which made Evelyn's cheesecakes even more famous.[5][6]
The owners of The Venetian in Las Vegas asked David Overton to create an upscale casual restaurant for the Venetian. After traveling to Europe to study the cuisine, architecture, design and decor of Italian trattorias, French bistros, and the grand cafes and pastry shops of Vienna, Overton created the Grand Lux Cafe, which, according to the Grand Lux's website, merges the luxury of European cafes with the sensibilities of an all-American restaurant. The floors and tabletops are all-marble, and the glass fixtures are hand-blown, and intricate mosaics grace each location. The Cafe offers, in addition to European-style food, cuisine from cultures including Thai, Malaysian, and Caribbean.
Today the company operates thirteen Grand Lux Cafe restaurants in Arizona (Fashion Square in Scottsdale), California (Beverly Center in Los Angeles), Colorado (Park Meadows Center in Lone Tree), Florida (Aventura Mall in Aventura, in Jacksonville, at the St. Johns Town Center, Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, and Town Center Mall in Boca Raton), Illinois (Michigan Avenue in Chicago), Nevada (The Venetian and The Palazzo both in Las Vegas), New Jersey (Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus), New York (Roosevelt Field in East Garden City), and Texas (The Galleria in Dallas and the Centre at Post Oak in Houston).
The Grand Lux also places particular emphasis on the on-premise bakery found at each Grand Lux Cafe, which are baked to order. Lunch specials are served daily until 5:00pm, and special breakfast selections are served Saturdays and Sundays until 2:00pm.[7]
RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen features an Asian-fusion inspired menu within a contemporary setting. The first location opened on June 19, 2008 at Century City in Los Angeles. The restaurant features many Asian cuisines. However, David Overton excluded Chinese and Japanese cuisines, as these are served at the Grand Lux and Cheesecake Factory restaurants. Depending on the feedback from the initial location, the Cheesecake Factory LLC may choose to open a second location in Las Vegas.[8]
Cheesecake Factory Restaurants, Inc., is its online venture service; which offers cheesecakes delivered to customers deeply chilled and packed individually in a Styrofoam cooler with dry ice. [9]
The Cheesecake Factory is accused of mistreating its employees. There is at least one lawsuit against the company in violation of federal labor law by engaging in illegal pay practices regarding uniforms, off the clock work, calculation of overtime pay and other related wage and hour violations.[10]
Every year, on July 30, The Cheesecake Factory celebrates National Cheescake Day, part of National Cheesecake Month. On this day, every cheesecake on the menu is fifty percent (50%) off.
Cheesecake Factory has been called the "worst family restaurant in America" due to its large portion sizes.[11] The average sandwich at the restaurant contains 1,400 calories.[12]