NRN presents Consumer Picks, a data-driven report on customer preference and restaurant brand strength. Data for this report is provided by market research firm Datassential. Find out more about the data here and read more about the methodology here.
Consumers are still sweet on The Cheesecake Factory.
A perennial favorite in the Consumer Picks survey, the Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based casual-dining brand took the No. 1 spot for both food quality and ambience as well as a No. 3 rank for service in this year’s rankings. That showing was driven by three qualities the brand is well-known for: a voluminous menu, theatrical decor and cases lined with cheesecake after cheesecake.
David Overton, chairman and CEO of The Cheesecake Factory Inc., in 1978 opened the first Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills, Calif., with an extensive dessert menu that showcased the confections baked from his mother’s recipe, which she had adapted from a Detroit, Mich., newspaper in the 1940s and began selling locally in the Motor City from her own kitchen.
The restaurant was successful, expanding on the cheesecake flavors, and the company continues to operate its own bakeries today. The menu earned Cheesecake Factory the top ranking for food quality with nearly three-quarters of respondents, or 74%, calling its menu items best in class or above average.
Likewise, 74% of people called the brand’s lavish atmosphere best in class or above average for ambience.
The Cheesecake Factory has more than 200 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada as well as 23 operated under license agreements abroad. The parent company also owns North Italia and a collection within the Fox Restaurant Concepts subsidiary.
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