The front entrance of a Cheesecake Factory in downtown Seattle, Washington, 2009
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Public | |
Traded as |
NASDAQ: CAKE S&P 400 Component |
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | 1978 |
Founder | Evelyn Overton Oscar Overton David Overton |
Headquarters | Calabasas Hills, California, United States |
Number of locations
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185 restaurants |
Key people
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David Overton (Chairman and CEO) David Gordon (President) |
Products | Cheesecakes, burgers, pizza, pasta, steaks, sandwiches |
Revenue | $1.87 billion (2013) |
$160.95 million (2013) | |
$114.35 million (2013) | |
Number of employees
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35,000 |
Website | www |
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.
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.
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. 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.