2004 Consumers' Choice in Chains | Casual Dining: The Cheescake Factory

By Staff -- Restaurants & Institutions, 9/1/2004

2004 Consumers’ Choice in Chains
CASUAL DINING > THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY

Mention The Cheesecake Factory and a series of images flashes through the mind: interiors rich in eye candy—from Italian marble floors and warm cherry wood to Egyptian columns and hand-blown glass lighting fixtures. Display cases, placed front and center, flaunting a selection of cheesecakes and desserts.

It’s called ambience, and it’s no accident at the casual-dining chain, where attention to detail is so great that after 26 years and 79 company-owned restaurants, executives travel to all store openings to ensure that every element is perfectly executed.

6 grams
Amount of carbs in The Cheesecake Factory’s latest menu addition, 6 Carb Original Cheesecake, which rolled out nationally in July.

Each executive present—including Founder and CEO David Overton and President and COO Peter D’Amelio— tends to specific areas of responsibility during the three-to-five-day visit. The company also brings in about 30 designated trainers from across the system.

Getting each location off to the right start is crucial in the company’s view, and bringing in the top brass to work alongside new employees reaps rich benefits in loyalty and lower turnover.

“When we were in Birmingham [Ala.], one staff member said that seeing David [Overton] at the opening validated his working for The Cheesecake Factory. He had worked for other companies and never met executives before,” says Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing Howard Gordon.

While customers likely give little thought to the effort that goes into operating the complex concept, The Cheesecake Factory’s Choice in Chains performance reflects the strategy’s impact. The chain ranked at or near the top in atmosphere, reputation, menu variety and food quality, not only in its own segment but among all surveyed chains.

Headquarters	Calabasas Hills, Calif.
CEO	David Overton
Units	79
Check average	$16.09
Respondents aware of chain¹	51%
Respondents who visited in previous 12 months¹	11%
Guests who would go back²	90%
Average loyalty (would go back) for chains in this segment	83%
Key region	All
Widest attribute lead	Menu variety
(1) Base is all respondents; (2) base is 12-month patrons.

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Chain	Overall Score	Food Quality	Menu Variety	Value	Good Reputation	Service	Atmosphere	Cleanliness	Convenience
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Note: Overall Score is an index; percentages represent respondents who rated the chain "above average" on the given attribute.
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