front entrance of a cheesecake factory in downtown seattle washington 2009 type public traded as nasdaq cake industry restaurants founded 1978 founder evelyn overton oscar overton david overton headquarters calabasas hills california united states number of locations 185 restaurants key people david overton chairman and ceo david gordon president products cheesecakes burgers pizza pasta steaks sandwiches revenue 1.87 billion 2013 1 operating income 160.95 million 2013 1 net income 114.35 million 2013 1 number of employees 35 000 website www.thecheesecakefactory.com the cheesecake factory inc. is a restaurant company and distributor of cheesecakes based in the united states . the company operates 185 full service dining restaurants 165 under the cheesecake factory brand 11 under the grand lux cafe brand and one under the rocksugar pan asian kitchen brand . the cheesecake factory also operates two bakery production facilities in calabasas california and rocky mount north carolina and licenses two bakery based menus for other food service operators under the cheesecake factory bakery cafe marque . its cheesecakes and other baked goods can also be found in the cafes of many barnes & noble 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 featuring an eclectic menu large portions and signature cheesecakes . 2 contents 1 history of the cheesecake factory 1.1 history 1.2 california 1.3 expansion beyond southern california 1.4 international expansion 2 other restaurants 2.1 grand lux cafe 2.2 rocksugar pan asian kitchen 3 controversies 4 in popular culture 5 references 6 external links history of the cheesecake factory edit history edit the cheesecake factory was founded by evelyn overton . evelyn first decided to open a business after making a cheesecake for her husband s employer in 1949 . she opened a small cheesecake shop in detroit michigan in the late 1950s but eventually 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 . 3 california edit in 1978 evelyn s son david opened a small salad and sandwich restaurant in beverly hills which sold 10 varieties of overton s cheesecakes on a one page menu . 3 the cheesecake factory s miso salmon 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 2 000 m2 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 . 3 expansion beyond southern california edit 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 in september 1993 . david overton planned to open 3 4 units a year in the hopes of generating 25 % a year increase in sales . 3 the cheesecake factory at palisades center in west nyack new york the company began changing its menu twice a year and added items including steaks seafood and vegetarian dishes . the company continued to open new restaurants and by 1995 was ranked 11th in the united states . clarification needed as of april 2013 the cheesecake factory operated 162 restaurants under the cheesecake factory name in 36 states . 4 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 . 5 plaza las am ricas in san juan puerto rico opened its first cheesecake factory in the caribbean on august 28 2013 . 6 international expansion edit 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 cheesecake factory s first location outside the united states . in may 2014 the cheesecake factory announced that they will open the first cheesecake factory in asia . the first cheesecake factory will open in disneytown on june 16 2016 . 7 as of november 2014 the cheesecake factory had seven restaurants in the middle east . they have three in dubai ; at the dubai mall mall of emirates and jumeriah beach residence . in kuwait they have one in the avenues mall and another in arabella with one in saudi arabia in jeddah and lastly in the yas mall in abu dhabi . 8 in december 1 2015 the cheesecake factory opened its eighth middle east branch at the verdun shopping center in beirut lebanon . the opening was attended by many of the cheesecake factory management including managers from the us and dubai . other restaurants edit the cheesecake factory bakery cafe operates two bakery production facilities in calabasas hills california and rocky mount north carolina 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 edit 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 edit 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 edit the cheesecake factory has been criticized for featuring 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 . 9 the average sandwich at the restaurant contains 1 400 calories . 10 in 2013 the center for science in the public interest gave a better understanding toward some of the food found at the cheesecake factory including 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 which had more calories than any other entr e from a national chain restaurant at 3 120 calories with 89 grams of saturated fat . 11 the united states department of agriculture s center for nutrition policy and promotion states in its dietary guidelines that a typical female adult should consume about 2 000 calories males plus 500 12 and no more than 10 % of saturated fat per day . 13 in an attempt to offer healthier lower calorie meal options 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 . 14 in popular culture edit a fictionalized version of the cheesecake factory was used as a setting in the u.s. sitcom the big bang theory . according to the company it does not have any sort of arrangement with the show . 15 a third party source identifies this plot element as an example of product placement . 16 likewise in the nickelodeon series icarly a parody of the cheesecake factory and the spaghetti warehouse the cheesecake warehouse is featured where the main characters acknowledge the ludicrously large portions provided in their meals . there is a drake song in which he references the cheesecake factory . 17 references edit a b c the cheesecake factory investor relations annual reports . retrieved 20 september 2014 . 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 . the cheesecake factory restaurant locations . retrieved 20 september 2014 . zanolla leah 26 march 2008 . cheesecake factory express leaving downtown disney . the cheesecake factory abrir en plaza las am ricas en el 2013 plaza las americas shopping center san juan puerto rico . retrieved 20 september 2014 . http nrn.com international cheesecake factory expand asia kowitt beth february 25 2013 . the mystery company importing americana to the mideast . fortune . 167 3 90 96 . zinczenko david 2010 11 19 . america s best and worst family restaurants . health.yahoo.net . retrieved 2011 06 25 . 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 . retrieved 20 september 2014 . dietary guidelines 2015 2020 appendix 2 . estimated calorie needs per day by age sex and physical activity level . the office of disease prevention and health promotion . retrieved 13 october 2016 . dietary guidelines 2015 2020 . the office of disease prevention and health promotion . retrieved 13 october 2016 . cheesecake factory skinnylicious menu cuts calories usatoday.com . usatoday.com . retrieved 2016 03 25 . owen rob 2012 01 13 . tv q & a abc news storage wars and the big bang theory . . pittsburgh post gazette . retrieved august 6 2012 . blasting away at product placement . bloomberg business . retrieved 12 december 2015 . drake child s play lyrics . genius.com . retrieved 3 september 2016 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to the cheesecake factory . los angeles portal companies portal food portal official website grand lux caf website rocksugar pan asian kitchen retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the cheesecake factory & oldid 744156562 categories restaurants in the greater los angeles arearestaurant chains in the united statescompanies based in calabasas californiarestaurants established in 19781978 establishments in californiacompanies listed on nasdaqhidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterswikipedia articles needing clarification from april 2013commons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout 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