A Brief History of the Cheesecake Factory Essay

The Cheesecake Factory was founded by Oscar and Evelyn Overton. Evelyn first decided to open a business after making a cheesecake for her husband’s employer in 1949. Evelyn opened a small cheesecake shop in Detroit, Michigan, in the late 1950s, but later gave it up in order to raise her two children. She continued to supply cakes to several local restaurants through a kitchen in her basement. In 1972, Oscar and Evelyn Overton moved to the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles where they opened a wholesale bakery in which they produced cheesecakes and other desserts for local estaurants. In 1983, the Overtons opened a second restaurant in Marina del Rey. By 1987 the Beverly Hills location had expanded into a 78-seat restaurant and was experiencing great financial success. This led to the opening of a third, larger location in Redondo Beach, which was eventually renovated into a 300-seat, 21 ,OOO square foot location. By the end of the 1980s, The Cheesecake Factory’s one-page menu had expanded and the restaurant offered additional fast-food and short-order items. On January 25, 2011, the company expanded into the Middle East in a partnership ith Kuwaiti retail franchising company M. H. Alshaya Co.. The 300-seat restaurant opened on August 16, 2012, at the Dubai Mall. This is the first location for The Cheesecake Factory outside of the United States. As of March 4, 2013, the Cheesecake Factory Inc. has four restaurants operating in the Middle East, one being located at the Dubai Mall and another at the Mall of the Emirates (both in the UAE), the third in The Avenues Mall, Kuwait, and the fourth in Beirut. [6] Plaza Las Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico opened its first Cheesecake Factory in the Caribbean on August 28, 2013 Company Mission Statement Mission: To create an environment where absolute guest satisfaction is our highest propriety Vision: Through a shared commitment to excellence, we are dedicated to the uncompromising quality of our food, service, people and profit, while taking exceptional care of our guests and staff, we will continuously strive to surpass our own accomplishments and be recognized as a leader in our industry David Overton Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Overton has served as our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since our incorporation in February, 1992. He co-founded the Company with his parents, Evelyn and Oscar Overton. Mr. Overton crea ed t the Company’s namesake restaurant and opened the first The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in 1978 in Beverly Hills, California. He grew The Cheesecake Factory@ into a national chain and created two other concepts, Grand Lux Cafe@ and RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen@. Under Mr. Overton’s leadership, the Company’s revenues increased to $1. 8 billion in 2011, with The Cheesecake Factory leading the casual dining industry in average annual sales per restaurant of $10. 2 million. Mr. Overton’s professional honors include the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association â€Å"Silver Plate Award,† recognizing the most outstanding and innovative talent in foodservice operations; the â€Å"Executive of the Year Award† from Restaurants & Institutions Magazine; and the â€Å"MenuMasters Hall of Fame Award† from Nation’s Restaurant News, for his outstanding contributions to menu design and foodservice research and development, among many others. In 2012, Mr. Overton was named â€Å"Entrepreneur of the Year† in the Food Services category for the Los Angeles region by Ernst ; Young. This honor recognizes Mr. Overton for his demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in innovation, performance and personal commitment to The Cheesecake Factory and the communities our restaurants serve. David M. Gordon PresidentDavid Gordon was appointed President in February 2013. Mr. Gordon Joined our Company in 1993 as a Manager and during his 20 years with The Cheesecake Factory, he held the positions of Chief Operating Officer, Regional Vice President, Area Director of Operations and General Manager. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Restaurant Association. W. Douglas Benn Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerW. Douglas Benn was appointed Chief Financial Officer in January 2009. Mr. Benn is a veteran of the restaurant industry having spent more than 20 years in management roles with restaurant companies. He most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of RARE Hospitality International, which owned LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille prior to the company’s sale to Darden Restaurants in October 2007. During his ten years with RARE, Mr. Benn helped grow the company to over 300 units and over $1 billion in nnual revenues. Debby R. Zurzolo Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel Debby Zurzolo was appointed Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel in December 2003. Ms. Zurzolo Joined our Company as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in April 1999. From 1982 until Joining the Company, she practiced law at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP in Los Angeles, California. As a partner with that firm, Ms. Zurzolo represented our Company on various real estate matters and negotiated several of our restaurant leases. S Bytuglin President, The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Incorporated Max Byfuglin was appointed President of our bakery subsidiary in January 2006. He previously served as Executive Vice President of The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Incorporated. Mr. Byfuglin Joined our bakery operations in 1982 and worked closely with our founders, serving in nearly every capacity in our bakery over the past 20 years. Joshua Spears: General manager at dolphin mall location, been with the company for 20 years, started as a server/bartender, in Las Vegas Nevada, has a wife and 4 kids, currently doesn’t have any plans to move anywhere but always up to the change Adam Kaytes: Assistant General Manager, been with the company with 20 years, previously worked at 8 different locations, started as a server/bartender, single so always up to any change, currently my interenship supervisor. Gilberto Rodriguez: Server, its going to be 1 year that I been with the company on November 10, currently a server, I will finish school on December so my plans are to find a manager Job after that, previously worked at olive garden and BJ’s as a assistant manager, certified trainer, bartender and server. Location of the property: Address: 11401 NW 12th st, Miami, FL 33172 Description: The Cheesecake Factory serves much more than Just cheesecake! The Cheesecake Factory is a unique, upscale casual dining restaurant offering more than 200 menu selections including appetizers, pizza, pasta, seafood, steaks, salads, sandwiches and more. The menu also features specialty dishes like Chicken Madeira, Miso Salmon, Cajun Jambalaya Pasta and The Factory Burger. Save room for dessert! Try one of The Cheesecake Factory’s 50 delicious cheesecakes and desserts such as their White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake or their Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake, with a cappuccino or espresso. Products: Menu items include: appetizers, cheesecake, pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches, seafood, steaks and more Competition: The primary competition for the cheesecake factory at dolphin mall will be Texas de Brazil, mainly because its across and it’s the only other fine dinning restaurant at dolphin mall, I personally would not consider pf changs directly competition because that is a completely ditterent style ot t and its not directly across the cheesecake building, honestly there is no directly competition to cheesecake at dolphin mall, but there is a restaurant called bJs brewer house that is relatively close and they have a retty similar menu to ours, this will be the only director competitor we will have in the zone. -Texas de Brazil. -Pf Changs. -BJs Brewer house. Outside dolphin mall the Cheesecake Factorys top competitors are Brinker International, OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. , and Dine Equity, Inc. Brinker International is a U. S. based company, with over1800 res taurants in 24 countries and has a presence in the Middle East already. Subsidiaries include: Chili’s, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Maggiands Little Italy and On the Border Mexican Cantina and Grill. Unlike The Cheesecake Factory, Brinker International keeps its company active through cquisitions and partnerships for restaurant locations. A poorly performing Bennigan’s restaurant might become a new Chili’s restaurant. Brinker’s does not appear to be operating at a level of stability across its subsidiaries, either. The most recent Datamonitorreport on the company highlights much selling off of their brands (Datamonitor, 2010). The constant activity leads one to believe the company is less viable than its competitors in spite of staggering revenues and operating profits Company Culture: The Cheesecake Factory created the upscale casual dining segment in 1978 with the pening of our first restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA. And even with over 160 restaurant locations now in the U. S. , we’re Just as original today as we were when we first opened! In addition to The Cheesecake Factory restaurants, the company also operates two bakery production facilities that produce over 60 varieties of quality cheesecakes and other baked products. We know that outstanding people make it all happen. Each individual’s efforts and skills are necessary to the success of our company as a whole. As a staff member, we will invite you to share our company ission, â€Å"To Create an Environment Where Absolute Guest Satisfaction is our Highest Priority†. And our company values will guide your daily actions and ensure that the work environment and company culture is filled with memorable moments. Manager Style: There are a few types of manager styles, I think Adam is the perfect manager, he has a perfect balance for everything, here is a perfect description of him: The Perfect Manager This manager is popular with both staff and guests. This manager works hard to create solid relationships with staff members without becoming too close. Understands the challenges of the daily â€Å"show’ of making sure that all the parts come together properly to insure a quality guest experience. Master of the task related issues and can get them done in a quarter of the time of other managers. This management type keeps a light demeanor on the tloor while at the same time working to insure staff compliance to service standards and quality presentation of the food. Has a great knowledge of regulars and would be regulars and spends time cultivating relationships with the guests in order to insure their return visit. This anager can operate almost independently because their goals are aligned with the company objectives and directives from senior management. Perfect managers can become frustrated when the demands of the Job exceed their ability to complete the objectives in a timely manner. This can cause frustration for the manager and periods of unproductive performance. As a manager on a daily basis, it is tough to work long hours and handle innumerable problems without having it affect the quality of your work. You try to do the best you can and work to make the restaurant the best that it can be. Sometimes you sacrifice your personal well-being for the sake of the Job. Managers as a rule have a hard time separating themselves from what they do. A good management style of any kind begins with a manager that can take care of their emotional and physical needs outside the restaurant. They are emotionally healthy and happy with a positive attitude toward the Job and people they work with. Operational Controls At every Cheesecake Factory restaurant, a kitchen manager is stationed at the counter where the food comes off the line, and he rates the food on a scale of one to en. A nine is near-perfect. An eight requires one or two corrections before going out to a guest. A seven needs three. A six is unacceptable and has to be redone. The whole chain restaurant industry not Just the Cheesecake Factory uses an interesting system for minimizing food waste, which can easily become a burdensome cost: The chain-restaurant industry has produced a field of computer analytics known as â€Å"guest forecasting. † â€Å"We have forecasting models based on historical data†the trend of the past six weeks and also the trend of the previous year,† Adam told me. The predictability of the business has become astounding. The company has even learned how to make adjustments for the weather or for scheduled events like playoff games that keep people at home. The Cheesecake Factory’s ability to add menu items across its restaurants is similarly impressive. The company rolls out a new menu every six months that can feature upwards of a dozen new items. Regional and kitchen managers head to California for intense training that shows them not Just how to make the new dishes but how to train others back at the restaurants in their region. After observing the whole process, its rate of successful and scaled innovation, Gawande writes, â€Å"would be enviable in medicine, where innovations commonly spread at a glacial pace. Strengths and weaknesses: Their strengths include award winning customer service, an interactive website, fantastic desserts and an extensive menu of over 200items that evolves every six months to keep it fresh and exciting to customers. A significant opportunity in moving into an emerging market such as the United Arab Emirates is the prospect for increased revenue and profits for a restaurant of this caliber enteri ng in this new arket. One aspect that distinguished The Cheesecake Factory is how they specialized on their dessert product line and then built and drink product lines around it. By making abase, the company was able to add items and test recipes for success. Now they have a solid food line that is changed every six months to ensure the customers are satisfied. Diversity also ensures return visits because people want to try something new each time; it prevents people from getting bored with the food . When updating their menu, the Cheesecake Factory is also indful of health-conscious customers and has a very high-quality line of health- conscious foods Weaknesses The Cheesecake Factory must consider how the company’s values, ideals, vision admission, and goals will align with the new country. Cultural issues can be a major challenge when moving into a new country. The company must be 100% prepared to take on the culture, the cuisine, and any other conflicts such as dress codes or dietary customs. ome countries such as the United Arab Emirates older generations may be slow to embrace change or new cultures; they may be opposed to new restaurants or ven new menu items at a restaurant. This could pose a problem for the constant menu changes The Cheesecake Factory offers. The differences in tastes, beliefs and culture could potentially be a major challenge for this restaurant moving to the Middle East. The lack of nutritional information may also be problematic for this region, as people in different areas are sensitive to different foods and what are in the foods needs to be known as well as the caloric content of the food. As with the United States, all developed countries have become more aware of what they are eating and their health in general