- The Cheesecake Factory
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The Cheesecake Factory 
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 CEOProducts 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]
Contents
History
The Cheesecake Factory's Miso Salmon
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]
Grand Lux Cafe
The owners of The Venetian in Las Vegas asked David Overton to create an upscale casual restaurant for the Venetian.[citation needed] 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
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]
Online
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]
Controversy
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]
The 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]
Popular Culture
The character Penny in the TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory works in the Pasadena, California branch of the Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant serves as one of the show's main recurring locations. In the Nickelodeon TV show iCarly, the Cheesecake Factory is often parodied as "The Cheesecake Warehouse".
References
- ^ a b c "The Cheesecake Factory Reports Results for Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2006" (Press release). Cheesecake Factory. 2007-02-06. http://investors.thecheesecakefactory.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=109258&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=959535. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ ""What Is The Cheesecake Factory?" About Page on the company's website". Cheesecakefactory.com. http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/aboutus.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- ^ "The Cheesecake Factory Plans for Second Bakery Production Facility". Carolinanewswire.com. 2005-07-28. http://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=topstories.db&command=viewone&id=3165&op=t. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- ^ "Cheesecake Factory Expands to Middle East". http://www.thestreet.com/story/10984395/1/cheesecake-factory-expands-to-middle-east.html.
- ^ ""Our Story" A History of the Cheesecake Factory at the company's official website". Cheesecakefactory.com. http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/aboutus.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- ^ "A timeline of the Cheesecake Factory's history". Cheesecakefactory.com. http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/aboutus.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- ^ "History Page at The Grand Lux Cafe's official website". Grandluxcafe.com. http://www.grandluxcafe.com/aboutus.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cheesecake26-2008may26,0,6323663.story?page=1[dead link]
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions" - Cheesecake Factory company website. Cf. "What are my shipping options for cheesecakes?".
- ^ "The Cheesecake Factory Server Lawsuit". Yezbak Law Offices. 2007. http://serverlawsuit.com/index.html. Retrieved 06/08/2010. "A group of waiters and waitresses filed a federal lawsuit alleging that The Cheesecake Factory violated 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."
- ^ Zinczenko, David (2010-11-19). "America's Best—and Worst!—Family Restaurants". Health.yahoo.net. http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/americas-best%E2%80%94and-worst%E2%80%94family-restaurants. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
- ^ By HealthiNation (2010-12-10). "Worst Foods in America, 2010". Health.yahoo.net. http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/worst-foods-america-2010. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
External links
Categories:- Companies listed on NASDAQ
- Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
- Companies established in 1978
- Restaurant chains in the United States
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