13 Interesting Facts You Should Know About The Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory is one of those restaurants that's practically everywhere, popping up in large and medium-sized metropolises all across the United States. You'll often find them attached to malls, making them the perfect place to grab lunch or dinner after some mall crawling. Anyone who's ever stepped into a Cheesecake Factory knows that the cheesecake bakery case isn't just a display; it's the heart of the restaurant, surrounded by a mishmash of styles, from pillars to ceiling art galore.

When you finally make your way to your table and sit down, you're handed what can only be described as a massive menu. Flipping through this laminated, spiral-bound tome can feel overwhelming because of its length. As you're mulling over your options, you'll get to enjoy that classic brown bread. Making your way through the menu is part of the fun, and by the time you've decided what to order, you might wonder if you've left any room for dessert. Hopefully, you have because that's what it's all about at The Cheesecake Factory. Yet, as familiar as it may seem, there's always something more to discover about this beloved restaurant with its famous dessert at its core. Let's dive into some interesting facts about The Cheesecake Factory.

Read more: Restaurant Foods That Always Taste Better Than What You Make At Home

There Are Some Location-Specific Items

If you've ever sat down to read a Cheesecake Factory menu, you know how Herculean that task can be. The massive menu features 250 items that the chain proudly boasts are made from scratch in the kitchens. It's difficult to imagine adding more to the menu, but in a few locations, you can find super exclusive, location-specific Cheesecake factory specialties.

Though you may be trying to steer clear of mainland-dominating restaurants while vacationing in Hawaii, in Honolulu and Kapolei, you'll find some items perfectly befitting your tropical vacation. This includes some exclusive cocktails that play with rum and tropical juices as well as ones that play with the whole tropical-paradise-atop-a-volcano theme with The Lava Flow and Mango Eruption. Both feature rum, banana, juices, coconut, and fruity flavors.

In addition to several exclusive courses like the chicken katsu and island-style ahi poke bowl, among others, you can wrap up your meal with a cheesecake befitting of the island: fresh pineapple cheesecake. Though we're certainly willing to take a trip to paradise to sample these exclusives, Hawaii isn't the only locale with unique options -- there are location-specific menus in Puerto Rico, Albuquerque, and Toronto, too.

Some Menu Items Have Been Retired

When The Cheesecake Factory first opened, the menu was much smaller — somewhere around 60 menu items rather than the extensive number of choices today. While the menu has grown a great deal, many of the original menu items are no longer available. At the time, many of the items were named for people. For example, Adam's Favorite was a name given to a cream puff stuffed with ice cream, while Renee's Special featured sweetened and broiled pineapple that also got a scoop of ice cream. While these favorites seem easy to create, they no longer grace the menu at The Cheesecake Factory.

There were also a few more oddly named options, like the Wyoming Humdinger, a sandwich with corned beef, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Thousand Island dressing that felt quite similar to a reuben. A Pink Squirrel Cheesecake seemed especially notable given its color and quirky name. This dessert was based on a chocolatey cocktail of the same name. There was also a carrot raisin salad, which included -- you guessed it -- carrots, raisins, and a mayo-based dressing.

Brown Bread Can Replace Other Bread In Sandwiches

If you've spent any amount of time dining at a Cheesecake Factory location, you're no doubt familiar with the brown bread brought out in a basket as part of your meal. It's sweet and goes perfectly with warmed butter, and it's hard not to love. If you're anything like us, you've accidentally filled up on this very bread before your main course even arrives.

If you happen to fall into this camp and wish you could simply have brown bread with everything, there's a fun Cheesecake Factory hack just for brown bread lovers: You can swap out the brown bread on any sandwich that uses sliced bread on the menu. It'll take your already tasty avocado club from good to an absolute favorite. We should note that although this is a very simple request to make in person, it could be a bit more complicated to do for a takeout order, so you may need to save your brown bread customization for when you're actually dining in a location rather than picking up your dinner to go. If employing this swap, reserve your brown bread enjoyment for your sandwich and opt to enjoy a different appetizer.

You Can Purchase The Brown Bread At Grocery Stores

Those who absolutely can't get enough of the brown bread will be thrilled to learn that you can find this popular Cheesecake Factory brown bread right in your local grocery store. Most frequently, you'll find the bread in the bakery aisles in the form of mini baguettes, rolls, and sliced sandwich bread.

Though it may be tempting to remove the bread from the bag and get straight to eating, take a few extra minutes to pop the rolls and mini baguettes in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for a few minutes. This extra step will make you feel like you're getting a real brown-bread experience. To enhance that experience, if you're hosting a dinner party, purchase a couple of bread baskets and load them up with these warmed baguettes. The effect will feel so similar that your guests will just be wondering where their cheesecake is for dessert -- so it may not hurt to have some in the refrigerator to complete the feel.

You Can Also Buy Cheesecake Factory Ice Cream At The Grocery Store

If getting the brown bread into your own kitchen is exciting, you'll be thrilled to learn that on the same grocery trip, you can also pick up some dessert. There are several ice cream bar flavors available, including strawberry cheesecake and original cheesecake. If you can't choose between the two flavors, there's even a combo pack so that you can enjoy both options within the same box.

If you're looking for more ice cream flavors, you'll be pleased to learn that there are several, including birthday cake, chocolate, cookies and cream, salted caramel, strawberry, and original. The latter is a rather unusual name for an ice cream flavor, but each one represents the cheesecake version of the same name, so the "original" option is essentially original cheesecake. These would certainly be delicious to eat all on their own, or you could use them as the base for milkshakes or even a homemade ice cream cake. Pairing these with a cheesecake brought home from the restaurant may be the very thing to satisfy that sweet tooth.

Cake Merch Is A Thing

The Cheesecake Factory is very aware of its uniqueness in terms of design. It also seems aware that it has the opportunity to use its iconic colors and style to create unique items for people to enjoy and celebrate their love of The Cheesecake Factory. Now, if you are a Cheesecake Rewards member, you can shop for "Cake Merch" to celebrate your love of all things Cheesecake Factory.

After joining the rewards program, you can shop the Cake Merch store. There's a striped tote that's made to look like the iconic Cheesecake Factory to-go bag. The same pattern appears on a beach towel, perfect for that reminder of where to enjoy dinner after a day on the beach. You can also snag something a little more subdued with a cream-colored hoodie featuring a subtle outline of a cheesecake slice. To pick up your new going-out shirt, there's even one that says, "This is my date night shirt," with a slice of cheesecake on it. For the ultimate in celebrating Cheesecake Factory style, pick up the cream shirt that says "I wish my home looked like The Cheesecake Factory."

You Can Order A Whole Cheesecake To Take Home

If you simply can't get enough cheesecake while at the restaurant, perhaps it's best to order a whole cheesecake to take home. When you order online, you can choose either pickup or delivery. So, when you're leaving to head home after dining in, your cheesecake can be ready to go home with you. Alternatively, you don't even need to leave your home to enjoy some of that Cheesecake Factory goodness.

These cheesecakes, once home, will need to be defrosted in your refrigerator for about two hours before you dig in. So, although you can definitely enjoy your cheesecake at home, it will require a bit of pre-planning. It's probably best served to a large group, as according to The Cheesecake Factory, these 10-inch desserts will serve up to 15 people. To us, it sounds like a perfect birthday cake replacement, especially since there's a celebration cheesecake with all the sprinkles you could want for your next birthday bash.

Happy Hour Can Save You Some Coin

Happy hour is absolutely ideal for taking some time after work to enjoy snacks and drinks with your coworkers. At The Cheesecake Factory, you can enjoy happy hour right in the restaurant's bar during the specific times your closest restaurant identifies. This is generally between the hours of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., but some locations might alter those hours differently.

While many restaurants have a limited menu available for happy hour that excludes some of your favorites, the happy hour menu at The Cheesecake Factory is quite extensive. Plus, it offers the same amount of food at a far smaller price tag. Take the popular avocado egg rolls, for example. These egg rolls cost $16.50 if you were to enjoy them in the dining room outside of happy hour. During happy hour in the bar, however, they cost less than $10 at $9.95. In fact, all of the appetizers cost the same amount during happy hour. It's certainly a smaller number of offerings, but the selections are still pretty extensive. You also have a range of specialty cocktails and small plates and snacks to choose from.

You Can Enjoy Treats Through The Rewards Program

While many rewards programs require you to rack up points, Cheesecake Factory's rewards program operates a bit differently. In addition to exclusive Cake Merch available only to those in the rewards program, you are also eligible for a free birthday slice of cheesecake as well as other surprise rewards throughout the year.

You'll also be able to book a reservation timeslot ahead of arriving at the restaurant, ensuring that you don't need to wait too long for a table. Replacing the typical earn-points-for-your-visits concept common in rewards programs, you are eligible for surprise rewards throughout the year. We've seen rewards like a free slice of cheesecake, a free slice for linking your DoorDash account, and even $10 off a $30 order.

To join, you'll first enter your phone number and then be sent a confirmation code to verify the number. After typing in the code you receive via text, you'll provide your name, email address, zip code, birthday, favorite restaurant location, a password of your choosing, and an optional answer for your favorite cheesecake flavor.

There Are Other Desserts Besides Cheesecake On The Menu

When you go to The Cheesecake Factory, there's a good chance you're imagining getting cheesecake for dessert, as the name might imply. Although there are plenty of cheesecakes to choose from, there are also some excellent Cheesecake Factory desserts that are decidedly not cheesecakes. If you don't want to stray too far from cheesecake and are still looking for a cake option, Linda's fudge cake may be the perfect choice, especially since it's been on the menu since 1978.

If you visit during the spring season, you might be in the mood to try some carrot cake. The Cheesecake Factory offers a carrot cake that towers several layers, each interspersed with cream cheese icing. Alternatively, if you're looking for something entirely different from cheesecake, or even cake for that matter, some apple crisp might be up your alley. This crisp comes paired with a scoop of ice cream, deliciously baked apples, and plenty of caramel drizzle. Then, for the ultimate indulgence, consider some tiramisu. With its layers of chocolatey, coffee-flavored, and decadent cake, it could very well become a new favorite.

The Meals Pack A Mighty Caloric Load

It may be no surprise to learn that The Cheesecake Factory menu is not entirely on the light side when it comes to calories. In fact, from breakfast through dinner, there are some pretty heavy options adorning the many-page, novel-like menu.

If you're visiting The Cheesecake Factory and looking for something on the lighter side, there are, of course, some options for you -- but by and large, a meal at The Cheesecake Factory is going to be a substantial dose of calories. For example, for breakfast, if you're looking for something savory, the breakfast burrito clocks in at 2,260 calories, and a sweet item like the bruléed French toast with bacon has 2,180 calories.

Even lunch specials are up there, with a chicken Parmesan sandwich and the Thai coconut-lime chicken hitting the same mark at 1,960 calories. And if you're looking to add dessert to that, the Oreo Dream Extreme cheesecake and Reese's peanut butter chocolate cake cheesecake each have a rich 1,510 calories. Of course, for something a little lighter, you can order a bowl of fresh strawberries for dessert at 250 calories.

The Cheesecake Factory Is Entertaining On TikTok

One of the best ways brands can connect today with potential and current customers is through social media. With TikTok being one of the more popular social media sites, full of people creating captivating and interesting content, there are also plenty of brands adding their own take on the short video-sharing platform.

The team behind the TikToks created for the brand is funny and seems to understand the TikTok landscape and what makes it really, well, tick. You'll see a mix of straightforward advertising for new promotions as well as the use of popular and trending sounds. It even has an ear to the ground on applicable news stories. For example, hopping on the nationwide affection for football player Travis Kelce, there's a video playfully sharing the way Kelce matched a cheesecake bag in his pregame attire. It even shares fan work, like a crochet blanket in various Cheesecake Factory designs.

NBA Players Love The Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory holds a unique place in the hearts of many NBA players, establishing a fascinating connection between the restaurant chain and professional basketball.

One of the reasons NBA players gravitate towards The Cheesecake Factory is its widespread availability. Located in nearly all NBA cities, it provides a consistently comfortable and familiar dining experience, no matter where the players might be. This impressive coverage makes it a reliable choice for athletes who often travel and prefer dining spots that remind them of home and a familiar meal.

Stephen Curry, for example, has been vocal about his fondness for The Cheesecake Factory, posting on X in 2010 (then Twitter) that the chain had "the best appetizers." And he's not alone; numerous players have been spotted enjoying meals at various locations, making it a popular choice in the league for both casual dinners and team gatherings.

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