Tag Archives: The Cheesecake Factory

Now serving: The Cheesecake Factory at Woodland Mall opens for business

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Our server, Nia Duncan, during our visit to The Cheesecake Factory. (Photo by WKTV)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The City of Kentwood has its cheesecake and is eating it too with the opening of The Cheesecake Factory at Woodland Mall.

The popular restaurant, which features more than 30 cheesecakes along with 250 menu items, officially opened this week, however; several West Michigan residents were able to check out the restaurant during a special preview to help staff prepare and work out the kinks. 

The Brick Chicken at The Cheesecake Factory. (Photo by WKTV)

My daughter, Maggie, and I were among those dinners. Both of us have been to The Cheesecake Factory in Chicago, so we knew what to expect. And while we did not go in, we did drive past the first Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills, California. According to the company’s Senior Director of Public Relations Alethea Rowe, David Overton opened the first Cheesecake Factory in 1978 to highlight his mother’s cheesecake. 

“Our story started back in Detroit, Michigan in the 1940s,” Rowe said. “(Overton’s mother) Everlyn Overton found a cheesecake recipe in a Detroit newspaper. She changed it a little bit to make her own and started making delicious cheesecakes for friends and family.”

Our server, Nia Duncan, of Kentwood, told us her cheesecakes are the current seasonal specialities, a Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake, which is a layer of pumpkin cheesecake on top of a pecan pie. She also said she liked another seasonal favorite, the Upside Down Pineapple Cheesecake which is cheesecake between two layers of pineapple upside down cake. 

California Guacamole Salad (Photo by WKTV)

Rowe noted the company has a number of seasonal specialties with its Peppermint Bark Cheese being released on Black Friday.

And while Maggie and I are known for having our dessert first, both my daughter and I decided it might be better for each of us to order some lunch. Maggie ordered a new item called the Brick Chicken. This entrée had roasted chicken with crisp potatoes and sauteed onions and green peppers. I ordered from the “Super Foods” Menu getting the California Guacamole Salad that had mixed greens, avocado, tomato, corn, black beans, onion, radish, crispy tortillas, feta cheese and cilantro with a mildy spicy avocado dressing. 

We were both extremely happy with our choices with neither one of us able to finish our meals as we had eaten a good portion of two appetizers, one of which was the guacamole and chips. If you like fresh guacamole, then The Cheesecake Factory is definitely the place to visit. It was fresh, with large pieces of avocado. 

So with our appetizers and meals bagged, we had a piece of cheesecake. Being the chocolate lovers we are, we went with the Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Cheesecake, a Hershey’s chocolate cheesecake between two layers of chocolate cake with chocolate chips. We are true dessert lovers to the end because while we could not finish our entrées, we made sure to polish off the cheesecake. 

The guacamole and chips appetizer. (Photo by WKTV)

The Kentwood location is only the second Cheesecake Factory in the state of Michigan. The other is located in Novi at the Twelve Oaks Mall. So why, put one in Kentwood’s Woodland Mall? According to Rowe, there were a number of factors.

“Everything from the local amount of foot traffic, local demographics, population density and of course all the wonderful renovations they have done here at the Woodland Mall made for the perfect formula of what we think will make a perfect restaurant for us,” she said.

The Cheesecake Factory is open from 11:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – midnight Friday, 10 a.m. – midnight Saturday, and 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Take out is available from the restaurant and the cheesecake counter is located at the front for those who just want to snag a slice to go. 

Snapshots: Wyoming, Kentwood weekend news you need to know

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By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

“FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect — of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confident, and with a sense that they can create their own future.”
 
                             ― Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST Robotics
Top Dawgs: Code Red Robotics the Stray Dogs took home the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

Robot Rumble

The FIRST Robotics program is well underway with the first area competition set for this Saturday at Grand Valley State University. Two local teams, South Christian and Godfrey’s Lee High School, will be participating. The next big event will be at East Kentwood, Friday and Saturday, March 29 and 30. WKTV will be covering the East Kentwood event, which will have local teams from the Potter House, Wyoming High School, the community team Code Red, and host team, East Kentwood.


Think Spring

Get into the spring spirit with the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s “Art in Bloom,” which is running through the weekend. The exhibit features the work of 17 floral designers and their interpretation of 17 works from the Museum’s collection on view—ranging from Robert Rauschenberg’s Sterling/Whirl to Hans Arp’s La Sainte de la Lisiere. There are several activities planned around the bi-annual event including a tour, a Drop-in-Studio event, and a classical concert. Click here for more information.

Signs of Summer

Bell’s Brewery announced that Monday, March 25, will be the release date of its popular summer brew, Oberon. For those who wish to partake in all the revelry, Bell’s has a new Oberon Day Excuse Generator, http://bellsbrewery.com/excuses to help you get out of work. So party like its the summer of 2019 (which we hear is coming soon).



Fun fact:

Here is the cheese on cheesecake

In honor of the recent announcement that The Cheesecake Factory is coming to Woodland Mall, we dug up a few cheesecake fun facts: it is believed that cheesecakes were served to Olympian athletes at the 776 B.C. games to give them energy; the largest cheesecake every made weighed 4,703 pounds and was made by the Philadelphia Kraft Foods Mexico on Jan. 25, 2009; and the man credited for the New York-style cheesecake is Arnold Reuben, the man behind the Reuben sandwich. According to the story, Reuben was invited to a dinner party where the hostess served a cheese pie. He was so intrigued by this dish that he experimented with the recipe until he came up with the New York-style cheesecake. (Source)

The Cheesecake Factory comes to Kentwood, heading to Woodland Mall

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The Cheesecake Factory adds a new location: Woodland Mall. There are now more than 200 The Cheesecake Factory restaurants around the globe. The one pictured above is in Hong Kong. (Wikipedia)

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Area residents will no longer have to travel to Chicago or Detroit to get their cheesecake fix as The Cheesecake Factory will be opening at Woodland Mall.

In a series of redevelopment milestones at Woodland Mall, PREIT announced The Cheesecake Factory will open in 2019, further establishing its presence as the premier retail, dining and entertainment destination in West Michigan.

According to mall officials, in an effort to elevate the dining experience and expand the mall’s trade area, PREIT has executed a lease with The Cheesecake Factory for its first location in West Michigan and second location in the state. That other location is at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi. The 8,500-square-foot restaurant is slated to open at Woodland Mall in late October.

“Since opening our first restaurant in Beverly Hills more than 40 years ago, The Cheesecake Factory has become known for creating delicious, memorable experiences for millions of guests around the country, and we’re so pleased to be opening our first restaurant in Grand Rapids,” said The Cheesecake Factory Inc. Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer David Overton. “We look forward to opening in Woodland Mall this fall.”

The Cheesecake Factory actually got its start in Michigan. In the 1940s, Evelyn Overton found a recipe in the local newspaper that would inspire her “Original” Cheesecake. The cheesecake became so popular that she decided to open a cheesecake shop, but eventually gave up the dream in order to raise her children, David and Renee. 

In 1972, with their children grown, Evelyn and her husband, Oscar, decided to pursue the dream one more time and moved to Los Angeles. They opened The Cheesecake Factory and began selling cheesecakes to restaurants throughout Los Angeles. In 1978, their son, David, opened a restaurant to showcase his mother’s cheesecake selections. There are now more than 200 The Cheesecake Factory restaurants around the world.

The cheesecake case at The Cheesecake Factory. (Public Domain)

The Cheesecake Factory restaurant, which has won numerous awards including Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” six years in a row, is known for its extensive menu, generous portions and legendary desserts. The restaurant features more than 250 menu selections including SkinnyLicious® dishes with 590 calories or less and Saturday and Sunday brunch – all handmade, in-house with fresh ingredients – and more than 50 signature cheesecakes such as Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Cheesecake, Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, the Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake along with the Original Cheesecake. The restaurant also has other desserts such as Linda’s Fudge Cake, Carrot Cake, Lemocello Cream Torte, and hot fudge sundaes.

The Cheesecake Factory will join Black Rock Bar & Grill, an award-winning steakhouse and first-to-market experiential dining offering, which is slated to open this summer.

New Retailers in the Region

Earlier this year, Woodland Mall officials stated it would be an exciting year for the property with several new retailers coming in and several current retailers, such as Apple, Altar’d State, LUSH, Williams-Sonoma, and Bath & Body Works being upgraded creating a new shopping experience or visitors.

First-to-portfolio retailer Von Maur, which will occupy 90,000 square feet in the former Sears space, is set to open in the fall. This location will be the high-end department store’s first in the region. Both Williams-Sonoma and Bath & Body Works will be moving the the Von Maur wing.

Von Maur also will be joined by a series of other new-to-portfolio and new-to-market retailers at the mall. REI will open in a 20,000-square-foot outparcel in the second quarter 2019 – bringing the in-demand outdoor clothing, gear and footwear brand to the region.

Complementing these high-quality and diverse retailers, Woodland Mall will also welcome Tricho Salon this fall, a salon offering a personalized experience with the most talented stylists in the region featuring the top hair styles, designs and products as well as makeup and waxing services. An innovator in the salon business since 2003, Tricho Salons has 12 locations across the U.S.

“With the addition of a fashion department store, the region’s only Apple store and The Cheesecake Factory, this property will take its place as a trophy mall and top-performer in our portfolio,” said PREIT CEO Joseph F. Coradino. “The high-impact redevelopment of Woodland Mall is delivering a diverse and robust tenant mix that aligns with our portfolio quality improvement efforts.”

Strengthening this dominant asset in its market, as the second largest redevelopment underway in PREIT’s portfolio, Woodland Mall is expected to deliver nearly 20 percent net operating income growth in 2020 with increasing foot traffic as evidenced by strong growth during the 2018 holiday season.