The Cheesecake Factory

Founding and early years

Evelyn Overton, inspired by a cheesecake recipe from a Detroit newspaper, made a cheesecake for her husband's employer in the 1940s. The cheesecake was well received, so she opened a small cheesecake bakery in Detroit, Michigan, in the late 1950s. She closed the bakery to raise her children, but continued supplying cheesecakes to local restaurants from her basement kitchen. In 1967, Evelyn's son David M. Overton left Detroit to attend Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, but in 1968, decided to be a drummer, performing with the Billy Roberts Blues Band.[6][7] In 1971, David convinced his parents to relocate to Los Angeles to open a commercial bakery.[6] In 1972, they moved to the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles where they opened The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, in which they produced cheesecakes and other desserts for local restaurants.[8]

First restaurant

In 1978, Evelyn's son David opened The Cheesecake Factory, a small salad-and-sandwich restaurant in Beverly Hills that sold ten varieties of cheesecakes on a one-page menu.[8] In 1983, he 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, 21000 sqft location. By the end of the 1980s, The Cheesecake Factory's one-page menu had expanded, and the restaurant offered additional entrees and short-order items.[8]

Expansion beyond Southern California

The 1990s saw the opening of the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant outside of Southern California. The new restaurant, the chain's 5th, was located in Washington, D.C.[9] The Cheesecake Factory was incorporated in 1992[10] and went public in September 1992[11]. David Overton planned to open 3–4 units a year to generate a 25% yearly increase in sales.[8]

The company began changing its menu twice a year and adding steaks, seafood, and vegetarian dishes. As of April 2013, the Cheesecake Factory operated 162 restaurants under the Cheesecake Factory name in 36 states.[12] Plaza Las Américas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, opened its first Cheesecake Factory on August 28, 2013.[13]

The company used to operate one self-service, limited-menu express food service operation under the Cheesecake Factory marque inside DisneyQuest at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It opened in 1998 and closed in 2017.[14]

International expansion

The Cheesecake Factory has expanded into international markets by licensing agreements for other companies to operate restaurant locations outside of the US. The first restaurant outside the United States was opened at The Dubai Mall in August 2012 via a licensing agreement.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 was The Cheesecake Factory's first location outside the United States.[15]

In May 2014, The Cheesecake Factory announced that it would open the first Cheesecake Factory in East Asia. The first East Asian Cheesecake Factory opened in Disneytown in Pudong, Shanghai, China, on June 16, 2016.[16]

Also, in 2014, the first Cheesecake Factory in Mexico opened its doors in Guadalajara.[15]

As of May 2018, The Cheesecake Factory has eleven restaurants in the Middle East: four in Dubai (Dubai Mall, Mall of Emirates, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Dubai Festival City Mall), three in Kuwait (Arabella, Sidra, and The Avenues—which was the 160th Cheesecake Factory opening),[17] two in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Jeddah), and lastly one in the Yas Mall and one in The Galleria in Abu Dhabi.[18] On December 1, 2015, The Cheesecake Factory opened its eighth Middle East branch at the Verdun Shopping Center in Beirut, Lebanon. Many of the Cheesecake Factory management attended the opening, including managers from the US and Dubai. The Cheesecake Factory also made its first appearance in Doha, Qatar, by opening in the Mall of Qatar and further opened two more branches in Villaggio and Doha Festival City.

There are Cheesecake Factories in Parque Delta and Centro Santa Fe, Mexico City.[19]

On April 12, 2017, the company announced it would expand into Canada.[20] In November 2017, the first Canadian location opened at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Ontario.[21][22]

In May 2017, a Hong Kong restaurant opened in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui.[23]

As of the beginning of 2024,[24] the Cheesecake Factory is open for business in 12 countries and territories across the Americas and Asia, Bahrain, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Macau, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Animal welfare

In 2012, the Cheesecake Factory committed to eliminate the use of gestation crates from its pork supply chain by 2022.[25] In its 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, it stated that by the end of 2022, 75% of its U.S. pork supply would be crate-free.[26] In 2024, the Cheesecake Factory was highlighted by animal welfare organization Animal Equality for having made progress toward eliminating gestation crates in its supply chain, but not having eliminated them entirely.[27]

In 2015, the Cheesecake Factory stated that it would eliminate the use of battery cage eggs from its supply chain, but did not specify a timeline for doing so.[28] In 2023, it was identified by The Humane League and the Open Wing Alliance for failing to report progress on its cage-free transition.[29] In March 2025, The Humane League stated that the Cheesecake Factory had achieved a 100% cage-free transition.[30]

Legal problems

On December 4, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission resolved charges brought against the Cheesecake Factory for misleading investors during the COVID-19 pandemic; the company paid a $125,000 fine without admitting the findings in the order.[31][32]

Grand Lux Cafe

David Overton designed the Grand Lux Cafe, an upscale restaurant for The Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas.[33] The restaurant is modeled after Italian, French, and Austrian styles.

RockSugar Southeast Asian Kitchen

RockSugar Southeast Asian Kitchen was a contemporary Asian-fusion restaurant that 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. It closed on December 31, 2020, at least in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] A second location opened in Oakbrook, Illinois, in November 2017,[35] but closed in December 2019.[36]

Fox Restaurant Concepts

On July 31, 2019, The Cheesecake Factory announced it had reached an agreement to buy Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC) for $308 million in cash at closing and another $45 million due over the next four years.[37]

Caloric content

The Cheesecake Factory has been criticized for featuring large servings of high-calorie and high-fat foods. For these reasons, the chain was dubbed the "worst family restaurant in America" for 2010 by Men's Health magazine.[45] The average sandwich at the restaurant contains 1,400 calories.[46] In 2013, the Center for Science in the Public Interest noted that the "Crispy Chicken Costoletta" that 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.[47] In 2015, the Cheesecake Factory created a "SkinnyLicious" menu that features a variety of cocktails, salads, appetizers, and specialty dishes such as lemon-garlic shrimp and grilled salmon.[48]