CALABASAS HILLS Calif. Peter D’Amelio said Tuesday that he would step down as president and chief operating officer of The Cheesecake Factory Inc.’s restaurant division on Feb. 2 for family-related reasons. The company said it has begun the search for his replacement.
Cheesecake officials said Officials said D'Amelio resigned because he wanted to be closer to his family on the East Coast. Cheeseake is based here.
Analysts noted that the departure of the longtime Cheesecake veteran would mark the third time in four years that the casual-dining company has changed chief operating officers. "We believe family issues did play a meaningful role in D'Amelio's departure," John Glass, restaurant analyst for Boston-based CIBC World Markets said in a report to clients Tuesday evening. "The fact that CAKE's share price is back to where it was in '03 may also be a small factor."
D'Amelio started with the company 17 years ago as a restaurant manager and worked his way through the ranks. In 2004, he was promoted from head of the then-three unit Grand Lux Cafe brand to restaurant-division chief, with responsibility for the now-123 unit The Cheesecake Factory chain.
David Overton, chairman and chief executive, thanked D'Amelio for his years of service. "I respect Peter's devotion to his family and I wish him every success in the future. Peter's role was supported by a deeply talented group of four regional vice presidents, with an average tenure of 16 years of operational experience with The Cheesecake Factory. Although we are losing a valued member of our team, we are fortunate that Peter developed such an incredibly strong group of operations executives."
In addition to its namesake restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory operates eight Grand Lux Cafes and one Cheesecake Factory Express. Two Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafes are licensed to other operators.