Article: Let them eat cake: new value menu items support The Cheesecake Factory's bottom line.(Behind the Line)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It's a rainy Friday night in downtown Seattle and The Cheesecake Factory lobby is crammed with pager-holding, hungry diners waiting between 30 and 40 minutes for a table. Cheesecake samples are passed around and children snack on baguettes as they wait. Yet even this busy scene is testament to the economic recession and the affect it is having on one of the busiest and most successful U.S. restaurant chains.

"Waits on a Friday night are normally 45 minutes to an hour," says Robert Okura, VP of culinary development for the Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based restaurant chain. "We're still busier than most restaurants, but our figures are ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!