The Cheesecake Factory Analysis
The Cheesecake Factory is one of the best performing chain restaurants in America. With its rich menu, it has managed to capture the hearts of diners over time, to become one of the best performing players in the industry.
The chain traces its roots back in 1940, where a Detroit lady named Evelyn Overton, had a fabulous cheesecake recipe that she used to bake and supply cakes to local restaurants. The woman had the idea to start a restaurant where the different recipes were showcased. The dream actualized in 1978, where the son, David Overton opened a restaurant to display his mother’s recipe in Los Angeles. The first cheesecake factory was opened in Beverly Hills and had a small list of items on the menu. The hotel started to be popular instantly, and this led to a rapid growth in the number of locations across the country. In 1993, the company became publicly traded and currently has expanded to more than 200 Cheesecake Factories spread out across the globe .
The success of the company can be seen on the number of awards that the chain has received over time. In 2014, it was a recipient of the Nation's Restaurant News Consumer Picks for the best Casual-Dining Restaurants; which was the third time in a row the chain has won the award. The year also saw the chain pick up the Market Force’s award as the "Favorite Casual-Dining Restaurant". The most current award was being named among the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies To Work For" in 2014. In 2013, some of the awards received include being FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired Companies, and others included the Nation's Restaurant News Menu Masters Award for "Healthful Innovations" and the Best Practices Award by people report .
Focus on quality
One of the most important aspects that a restaurant has to be keen on is the quality of the food offered to the customers. To many restaurants, this fete is achieved when the restaurants are small, with a small number of clients. Cheesecake factory, despite its expansion and the increased number of customers visiting it, has been able to maintain consistency regarding the quality of the produce. A look at the reviews of the Cheesecake Factory restaurants rarely bring up queries of customers who have complained about the quality of food served at this chain. This secret has made the restaurant get cult-like following of diners across the globe.
As pointed out by one customer who visited one of the chain establishments, the expectation was that the food would not be of a high quality due to the sheer number of people present at the time. Aspects such as frozen salads and precooked pasta, which are a common occurrence in most big chains are something that never happens at the Cheesecake Factory. The vegetables are served crispy, with every meal, having the expected taste. Customers often leave the chain establishment feeling that the food served was better than it was supposed to be . The reason for this state of quality is the fact that most of the dishes served in the chain’s establishments are made from scratch, helping to maintain the fresh taste. The cheesecake is the only item on the menu that is not carried out from scratch since it is sourced from the chain’s factory in California.
The modern day customer is very choosy, and this is an aspect that the Cheesecake’s management has fully understood. The customers, due to the different players in the restaurant industry have a variety of options to choose from when it comes to dining. For an industry player to gather the following Cheesecake Factory has, the customer needs to be offered a dining experience that remains entrenched in their memories. This is an art that the chain has mastered. Also, many industry players note that it is increasingly difficult to maintain customers. The modern day family loves to have an adventure, and dining is one of these adventures. The implication is that a restaurant has to be exceptional to excite and maintain its customers over time. This is another art that the chain has mastered, and it can be mainly attributed to the quality of food offered .
Mass appeal
Cheesecake Factory has heavily invested in gathering mass appeal. This appeal has been sought through some activities, with the major being the fact that anyone can come in and enjoy the food and services offered. In most restaurants, it is common to find that only a given subset of the society is catered for. Restaurants prefer to specialize in services that seem to fit particular groups within the society, but this is a trait that Cheesecake Factory has avoided. The chain has managed to gather mass appeal, and this can be attributed to the mere fact that there is always something specially prepared for everyone. This is an aspect that the chain has mastered and has translated into vast volumes of business, not seen in other players in the market.
Recent data indicates that the kind of traffic experienced at the chains’ establishments dwarfs the traffic seen in its closest competitors. Cheesecake factory, by the virtue of the mass appeal, has daily attendance and especially new visitor numbers that no other player in the industry has. This has been reflected in the financial books of the company, where an average location sees an annual sales figure of $10 million . That number places the chain among the companies with the highest volumes. What leads to the wide appeal the chain enjoys is the insistence of the chain making the customers happy. Irrespective of the preferences that any individual may have, their needs are catered for at the Cheesecake factory.
Having an extensive menu is a factor that has single-handedly drawn many people to the chain’s locations. In most cases, food enthusiasts prefer to have a variety of meals on different days. The implication is that it is very unlikely for an individual to dine from a single establishment continuously. The menu at the Cheesecake Factory has been brought to challenge the notion and offers the diners with the required variety. The whole family is a niche that the chain focuses on. The menu is set in such a way that as the children enjoy comfort foods such as crab cakes and Hawaiian pizza, the parents have the option of choosing foods such as the miso salmon and Buffalo wings. A look at the menu served at the chain’s different locations indicates that customers have the option to choose from more than three hundred dinner items. These items are inclusive of close to 50 items that people who are conscious of calories can enjoy. Besides, the restaurant offers the customer the freedom to choose from a list of more than 120 beverages . Despite the improvement of the menu to incorporate many dishes, the restaurant has still has maintained its touch when it comes to cheesecake. It offers a variety of 40 cheesecakes, ranging from the traditional strawberry cakes to more adventurous chocolate and nut cakes.
Management at the Cheesecake Factory acknowledges the importance of maintaining the mass appeal from the customers. To this end, the restaurants have been modeled in such a way that they offer a unique feeling to the customers once they enter the locations. The décor is maintained fancy, with Egyptian columns and various forms of decorations exquisitely arranged. To complement the feeling that the customer is having a special night, the waiters, clad in all white from top to bottom are friendly and highly efficient.
The mass appeal that Cheesecake Factory commands can be seen in the way popular culture has embraced the establishment. This offers the best form of advertisement that the company could ask for. Endorsements renowned personalities have turned the restaurant into a location that everyone wants to visit and share the experience. Observing different social media feeds from athletes and celebrities who view the Cheesecake Factory as a destination is an indication of how the wide appeal has been effectively realized . With the modern society powerfully driven by popular culture, the rise of the restaurant has been unstoppable.
Efficiency in operations and expansion
Most companies that adopt the idea of growth in business are usually concerned with having their presence felt in as many locations as possible. The implication is that multinational corporations may resolve to expand into many places that do not support the kind of business they deal with. In a show of clear understanding of its clientele, the Cheesecake Factory has been very choosy when it comes to expansion locations. After lots of market research, the chain only chooses places that can be viewed as exquisite. The growth agenda adopted by the company, therefore, is driven by the availability of the premier locations as opposed to having capital . By being selective in where new locations are established, the company has been able to maintain its high level of success. It is no wonder that the chains enjoy huge volumes of traffic every day since the locations are carefully chosen.
Another aspect of efficiency can be seen in the operations of the restaurants, especially in the setup of the kitchens. According to reports, the restaurants’ kitchens are set up to resemble a manufacturing plant. Here, a special operation system has been adopted where food is processed faster, meaning that foods come out fresh and faster . This is a testament of knowing their clientele since most customers have been quoted as very impressed by the freshness of the food served.
Another fascinating portrayal of efficiency comes in the form of waste that the restaurants emit. Managers have set very high standards, with 97.5% efficiency in the use of groceries expected . To achieve this level of efficiency, the restaurant has been forced to have the capability of knowing what the customers would want to be served before they enter the restaurants. This is a skill that the Cheesecake factory has mastered over the years, and is contributing to the high levels of success. According to sources within the restaurants, the management has developed a system where forecasts can be made through historical data. It has led to a realization of the predictability of the restaurant industry, where adjustments for even small aspects such as weather are possible. All this is done to ensure that the quality of service the customer gets is fantastic, a factor that sets the Cheesecake factory apart from the competitors.
In conclusion, the success that the Cheesecake Factory chain of restaurant has achieved is attributed to many factors. Many of these, however, circle the quality of the foods served in these restaurants. From humble beginnings, the company has risen to become a model for other players within the industry.
References
About us. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from thecheesecakefactory.com: http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/about-us/
Gawande, A. (2013, August 13). Restaurant chains have managed to combine quality control, cost control, and innovation. Can health care? Retrieved February 25, 2016, from newyorker.com: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/13
Lutz, A. (2015, March 23). 4 reasons The Cheesecake Factory is crushing the competition. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from businessinsider.com: http://www.businessinsider.com/cheesecake-factorys-strategy-for-success-2015-3
Millazo, C. (2015, October 31). WHY THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY ACHIEVES CULT STATUS AMONG RAPPERS, ATHLETES, AND OTHER CELEBRITIES. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from firstwefeast.com: http://firstwefeast.com/eat/why-rappers-athletes-celebrities-are-obsessed-with-the-cheesecake-factory/
Pfeifer, S. (2014, February 9). Cheesecake Factory cooks up a recipe for success. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from articles.latimes.com: http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/09/business/la-fi-stock-spotlight-cheesecake-20140210
