Cheesecake Factory Just Announced Plans to Open 585 New Restaurants
Many restaurant operators, from burger joints to sandwich hotspots, are ramping up growth in 2024 and beyond. One such company is the Cheesecake Factory.
During this week's Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference, the restaurant chain known for its lengthy menu and, of course, cheesecake, shared plans to open hundreds of new locations across its brands, as reported by Restaurant Business. These new openings would more than double the company's current restaurant footprint, which is around 341 units.
The Cheesecake Factory brand has 215 restaurants across the U.S. and aims to open an additional 85 locations to reach 300 restaurants. In terms of its other smaller restaurant brands, which the Cheesecake Factory acquired in 2019, the company discussed growth plans for North Italia, Flower Child, and Culinary Dropout.
For North Italia, a modern Italian restaurant chain, the Cheesecake Factory said it believes it can open as many as 200 locations. The chain had 39 restaurants across 13 states and Washington, D.C., at the end of its most recent quarter. The Cheesecake Factory is striving for a 20% annual unit growth rate and aims to open eight North Italia locations in 2025.
Restaurant Business noted that North Italia was the fourth-largest Italian-casual dining chain in 2023 with regard to systemwide sales, according to Technomic. It was also one of the fastest-growing, experiencing a 13.2% increase in sales as compared to 2022.
Then, there is Flower Child, a fast-casual chain that serves healthy, organic offerings like salads, bowls, and wraps. The Arizona-based Fox brand has 36 locations in 12 states, predominantly in Arizona and Texas. Looking ahead, the Cheesecake Factory believes that Flower Child could open more than 200 locations.
During the conference, executives said this fast-casual chain has been successful in every new market it has entered. The company intends to open Flower Child locations at an annual rate of 15% to 20%.
The Culinary Dropout is a brand that the Cheesecake Factory could potentially open on a national scale. This elevated sports bar chain currently has 13 locations across six states and could reach up to 100 restaurants, according to the company.
Additionally, Culinary Dropout will soon open its first restaurant in California. This will be "an important test" for the brand, according to David Gordon, the Cheesecake Factory's president.
Another Fox brand the company is testing is The Henry, a neighborhood cafe and bar that has six locations in five states. Gordon said the majority of next year's Fox brand openings will comprise this chain in addition to Culinary Dropout.
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