Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is a leader in experiential dining. We are culinary forward and relentlessly focused on hospitality. We currently own and operate 334 restaurants throughout the United States and Canada under brands including The Cheesecake Factory ® (216 locations), North Italia ® (37 locations), Flower Child ® (32 locations) and additional brands within our Fox Restaurant Concepts (“FRC”) portfolio (41 locations). Internationally, 33 The Cheesecake Factory ® restaurants operate under licensing agreements. Our bakery division operates two facilities that produce quality cheesecakes and other baked products for our restaurants, international licensees and third-party bakery customers.
Our business originated in 1972 when Oscar and Evelyn Overton founded a small bakery in the Los Angeles area. In 1978, their son, David Overton, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, led the creation and opening of the first The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. In 1992, the Company was incorporated in Delaware as The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (referred to herein as the “Company” or as “we,” “us” and “our”). Our executive offices are located at 26901 Malibu Hills Road, Calabasas Hills, California 91301, and our telephone number is (818) 871-3000.
We maintain a general website at www.thecheesecakefactory.com, as well as websites for our bakery and other subsidiaries, including www.northitalia.com , www.iamaflowerchild.com and www.foxrc.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, all amendments to those reports and our proxy statements are available on our general website at no charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after these materials are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our filings are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov . The content of our websites is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.
We utilize a 52/53-week fiscal year ending on the Tuesday closest to December 31 for financial reporting purposes. Fiscal years 2023 and 2021 each consisted of 52 weeks. Fiscal year 2022 consisted of 53 weeks. Fiscal year 2024 will consist of 52 weeks.
Geopolitical and Other Macroeconomic Impacts to our Operating Environment
During fiscal 2021 and 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect our business during periods of accelerated case counts in which we experienced increased restaurant staff absenteeism and temporary shifts in consumer behavior, such as changes in customer traffic or the mix between on-premise and off-premise channels. Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, our operating results were impacted by geopolitical and macroeconomic events, causing supply chain challenges and significantly increased commodity and wage inflation. Some of these factors continued to impact our operating results in fiscal 2023, contributing to significantly increased commodity and other costs. We also encountered delays in opening new restaurants primarily due to delays in permitting and landlord readiness, as well as supply chain challenges.
The ongoing impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic events could lead to further shifts in consumer behavior, wage inflation, staffing challenges, product and services cost inflation, disruptions in the supply chain and delay in new restaurant openings. Any of these factors may have an adverse impact on our business and materially adversely affect our financial performance.
The Cheesecake Factory
As of February 26, 2024, we operated 216 The Cheesecake Factory restaurants, which strive to provide a distinctive, high-quality dining experience at moderate prices by offering an extensive, innovative and evolving menu in an upscale casual, high-energy setting with attentive, efficient and friendly service. As a result, The Cheesecake Factory restaurants appeal to a diverse customer base across a broad demographic range. Our extensive menu and strategic selection of locations enable us to compete for substantially all dining preferences and occasions, from the key lunch and dinner day parts to the mid-afternoon and late-night day parts, which are traditionally weaker times for most casual dining restaurants, as well as special occasion dining. The Cheesecake Factory restaurants are generally open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, and we offer additional menu items for weekend brunch.
All of our restaurants offer a full-service bar where our entire menu is served. During fiscal 2023, alcoholic beverage sales represented 11% of The Cheesecake Factory restaurant sales. We offer all items on our menu, except alcoholic beverages where disallowed by regulation, for off-premise consumption, sales of which comprised approximately 22% of The Cheesecake Factory restaurant sales during fiscal 2023. We work with a third party to provide delivery service from all of our locations and offer online ordering for to-go sales at all of our domestic locations.
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The Cheesecake Factory menu features approximately 225 items, exclusive of beverage and dessert items and including items presented on supplemental menus, such as our SkinnyLicious ® menu that offers innovative items at 590 calories or less. Our menu offerings include appetizers, pizza, seafood, steaks, chicken, burgers, small plates, pastas, salads, sandwiches and omelettes, including a selection of vegan and gluten-free items.
Our ability to create, promote and attractively display our unique line of desserts is also important to the competitive positioning and financial success of our restaurants. We offer approximately 45 varieties of proprietary cheesecake and other desserts in our restaurants. Our brand identity and reputation for offering premium desserts results in a significant level of dessert sales, representing approximately 17% of The Cheesecake Factory sales during fiscal 2023.
Competitive Positioning
The restaurant industry is comprised of multiple segments, including fine dining, casual dining, fast casual and quick-service. The Cheesecake Factory restaurants operate in the upscale casual dining segment, which is positioned above core casual dining, with standards that are closer to fine dining. Upscale casual dining is differentiated by freshly prepared and innovative food, flavorful recipes with creative presentations, unique restaurant layouts, eye-catching design elements and more personalized service. We believe that we are a leader in upscale casual dining given the historically high average sales per square foot of our restaurants as compared to others in this segment.
The restaurant industry is highly competitive with respect to menu and food quality, service, personnel, location, décor and value. We compete directly and indirectly with national and regional casual dining restaurant chains, as well as independently-owned restaurants. In addition, we face competition from fast casual and quick-service restaurants, grocery stores and meal kits that have increased the quality and variety of their food products in response to consumer demand. We also compete with other restaurants and retail establishments for quality sites and staff and managers to operate our restaurants.
The key elements that drive our total customer experience and help position us from a competitive standpoint include the following:
Extensive and Innovative Menu, Made Fresh from Scratch. Our restaurants offer one of the broadest menus in casual dining and feature a wide array of flavors with portions designed for sharing. In contrast to many restaurant chains, substantially all of our menu items, except those desserts produced at our bakery facilities, are prepared from scratch daily at our restaurants with high-quality, fresh ingredients using innovative and proprietary recipes. One of our competitive strengths is our ability to anticipate customer preferences and adapt our expansive menu to the latest trends. We regularly update our ingredients and cooking methods, as well as create new menu items and new categories of food offerings at our restaurants, further enhancing the variety, quality and price points offered and keeping our menu relevant to our customers. All new menu items are selected based on anticipated sales popularity and profitability. We also regularly introduce new and innovative cheesecakes and other baked desserts. In 2023, we launched the Cookie Dough Lover’s Cheesecake with Pecans in conjunction with National Cheesecake Day.
We generally update The Cheesecake Factory menus twice each year, and our philosophy is to use price increases to help offset key operating cost increases in a manner that balances supporting both our margin objectives and customer traffic levels. Prior to fiscal 2022, we targeted menu price increases of approximately 2% to 3% annually, utilizing a market-based strategy to help mitigate cost pressure in higher-wage geographies. In fiscal years 2022 and 2023, we implemented price increases above our historical levels, including an incremental price increase in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, to help offset significant inflationary cost pressures. Current and future near-term pricing actions may also be at levels above historical norms to keep pace with any significant cost increases. In addition, on a regular basis, we carefully consider opportunities to adjust our menu offerings or ingredients to help manage product availability and cost.
Value Proposition. We believe our restaurants are recognized by customers for offering value with a large variety of freshly prepared menu items across a broad array of price points and generous portions at moderate prices. The average check for each customer, including beverages and desserts, was approximately $30.54 during fiscal 2023.
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Commitment to Excellent Service and Hospitality through the Selection, Training and Retention of High-Quality Staff Members. Our mission is to “create an environment where absolute guest satisfaction is our highest priority.” We strive to consistently exceed the expectations of our customers in all aspects of their experiences in our restaurants. One of the most important aspects of delivering a consistent and dependable level of service is having a team of experienced managers who can successfully operate our high-volume, complex restaurants. Our recruitment, selection, training, retention and internal promotion programs are among the most comprehensive in the restaurant industry, helping us to attract and retain qualified staff members who are motivated to consistently provide excellence in restauranteuring and customer hospitality. By providing extensive training, our goal is to encourage our staff members to develop a sense of personal commitment to our core values and culture of excellence. (See “Restaurant Operations, Development and Training” below.) Our commitment to people-focused programs and creating a great workplace for all of our staff and managers contributed to The Cheesecake Factory being named to Fortune magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For ® ” in 2023, for the tenth consecutive year.
High-Quality, High-Profile Restaurant Locations and Flexible Site Layouts. We target restaurant sites in high-quality, high-profile locations with a balanced mix of retail shopping, entertainment, residences, tourism and businesses. We have the flexibility to design our restaurants to accommodate a wide array of urban and suburban site layouts, including multi-level locations. Our restaurants feature large, open dining areas, high ceilings where available, a contemporary kitchen design and a bakery counter that features our desserts while also serving as a strategic location to facilitate our off-premise sales. The layouts are flexible, permitting tables and seats to be easily rearranged to accommodate small and large parties, thus permitting more effective utilization of seating capacity. Interior and exterior patio seating, either or both of which are available at approximately 95% of our restaurants, allow for additional customer capacity at a comparatively low occupancy cost per seat. Exterior patio seating is generally available as weather permits. (See “New Restaurant Site Selection and Development” below.)
Distinctive Restaurant Design and Decor. We place significant emphasis on the contemporary interior design and decor of our restaurants, which create a high-energy ambiance in a casual setting and contribute to the distinctive dining experience enjoyed by our customers. We have evolved our restaurants’ design over time to remain current while retaining a similar look and feel to our earlier restaurants. Our restaurants feature large, open dining areas, and where feasible, both exterior and interior patios. We apply high standards to the maintenance of our restaurants to keep them in “like new” condition.
Integration of our Bakery Operations. The primary role of our bakery operations is to produce innovative, high-quality cheesecakes and other baked desserts for sale at The Cheesecake Factory restaurants and those of our international licensees, which is important to our competitive positioning. Integration of this vital part of our brand gives us control over the creativity and quality of our desserts and is also more profitable than buying from a third party.
New Restaurant Site Selection and Development
The Cheesecake Factory concept has demonstrated success in a variety of layouts (e.g., single or multi-level and varying interior square feet), site locations (e.g., urban or suburban shopping malls, lifestyle centers, retail strip centers, office complexes, entertainment centers and urban street locations — either freestanding or in-line) and trade areas. Accordingly, we intend to continue developing The Cheesecake Factory restaurants in high-quality, high-profile locations that meet our rigorous site standards. In accordance with our broader capital allocation strategy, we plan to open as many locations in any given year as there are sites available that meet our site selection criteria and for which we can negotiate acceptable lease terms, obtain necessary permits, complete construction, and recruit and train personnel. We have the flexibility in our restaurant designs to penetrate a wide variety of markets across varying population densities in both existing and new markets. We continue to target approximately 300 Company-owned and operated The Cheesecake Factory restaurants domestically over time.
The locations of our restaurants are critical to our long-term success, and we devote significant time and resources to analyzing each prospective site. We consider many factors when assessing the suitability of a site, including the demographics of the trade area such as average household income and population density, as well as site-specific characteristics such as visibility, accessibility and proximity to activity centers such as shopping centers and competitive influences. Since our restaurants can be successfully executed within a variety of site locations and layouts, we are highly flexible in choosing suitable locations. While there are common decor elements within each of our restaurant sites, the designs are customized for the specifics of each location, including the building type, square footage and layout of available space. We expect the majority of our new restaurants to vary between 7,000 and 10,000 interior square feet, generally with additional exterior and/or interior patio seating, selected appropriately for each market and specific site.
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The relatively high sales productivity of our restaurants provides opportunities to obtain competitive leasing terms from landlords. Due to the flexible and customized nature of our restaurant operations and the complex design, construction and preopening processes for each new location, our lease negotiation and restaurant development time frames vary. The development and opening process usually ranges from six to eighteen months, depending largely on the type and availability of the leased space we intend to occupy, as well as our ability to obtain goods, materials, permits and adequate staffing, and is subject to delays either due to factors outside of our control or to our selective timing of restaurant openings. In recent years, we have encountered delays in opening new restaurants primarily due to delays in permitting and landlord readiness, as well as supply chain challenges.
Unit Economics
The operation of high-quality restaurants in premier locations fitting our criteria contributes to the continuing customer appeal of The Cheesecake Factory. This popularity is reflected in our average sales per restaurant and per square foot, which are among the highest of any publicly-held restaurant company.
Average sales per location for The Cheesecake Factory restaurants open for the full year were approximately $12.2 million for fiscal 2023. Since each of our restaurants has a customized layout and differs in size, an effective method to measure the unit economics of our sites is by square foot. Average sales per productive square foot (defined as all interior square footage plus seasonally adjusted exterior patio square footage) for restaurants open for the full year were approximately $1,132 for fiscal 2023. Fluctuations in both average sales per location and average sales per productive square foot generally track with comparable restaurant sales trends.
We currently lease all of our restaurant locations and utilize capital for leasehold improvements and furnishings, fixtures and equipment to build out our restaurant premises. Our distinctive design and decor require a higher investment per square foot than is typical for the casual dining industry. However, our restaurants have historically generated annual sales per square foot that are also typically higher than our competitors. Total construction costs to build our restaurant premises average approximately $1,100 per interior square foot. However, these costs vary depending on a number of factors, including geography, the complexity of our build-out, site characteristics, governmental fees and permits, labor and material conditions in the local market, weather and the amount, if any, of construction contributions obtained from our landlords for structural additions and other leasehold improvements.
Our new restaurants typically open with initial sales volumes well in excess of their future run-rate levels. This initial “honeymoon” effect usually results from grand opening publicity and other customer awareness activities that generate higher than usual customer traffic, particularly in new markets. During the three to six months following the opening of new restaurants, customer traffic generally settles into its normal pattern, resulting in sales volumes that gradually adjust downward to their post-opening run-rate level. Additionally, our new restaurants usually require a period of time after reaching normal traffic levels to achieve their targeted restaurant-level margins due to actual-to-theoretical food cost inefficiencies and labor productivity inefficiencies commonly associated with new, highly complex restaurants such as ours.
Restaurant Operations
Our ability to consistently execute a complex menu offering items prepared daily with high-quality, fresh ingredients in an upscale casual, high-volume dining environment is critical to our overall success. We employ detailed operating procedures, standards, controls, food line management systems and cooking methods and processes to accommodate our extensive menu and to drive sales productivity.
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We believe that the high average sales volumes and popularity of our restaurants allow us to attract and retain high-quality, experienced restaurant-level management and other operational personnel. Each restaurant is generally staffed with one General Manager (“GM”), one Executive Kitchen Manager (“EKM”), and an average of six to eleven additional kitchen and front-of-the-house managers and approximately 150 hourly staff members, both depending on the size and sales volume of each restaurant. Our GMs and EKMs possess an average of more than ten years of experience with the Company. This tenure and knowledge drive our high productivity and contribute to our ability to deliver an exceptional customer experience. All newly-recruited restaurant managers complete an extensive training program during which they receive both classroom and on-the-job instruction in areas such as food quality and safety, customer service, financial management, staff relations and safely serving alcohol. Managers continue their development by participating in and completing a variety of training and development activities to assess and further develop their skills and knowledge necessary for upward progression through our management levels. Our GMs regularly meet to receive hands-on training, share best practices and celebrate Company successes, all of which help to foster the unique culture of our brand.
Each restaurant GM reports to an Area Director of Operations (“ADO”), who in turn reports to a Regional Vice President of Restaurant Operations. Our EKMs report to their GMs but are also supervised by an Area Kitchen Operations Manager. Our restaurant field supervision organization also includes our Senior Vice President of Restaurant Operations, Senior Vice President of Kitchen Operations, an operations services team and our performance development department who are collectively responsible for day-to-day operations, managing new restaurant openings and training for all operational managers and staff.
To enable us to more effectively compete for, and retain, the highest quality restaurant management personnel, we offer an innovative and comprehensive compensation program for our restaurant GMs and EKMs. Each participant receives a competitive base salary and has the opportunity to earn a cash bonus based on quantitative restaurant performance metrics. GMs are also eligible to use a Company-leased vehicle. In addition, we provide a longer-term, equity incentive program to our GMs and EKMs based on their extended service with us in their respective positions and their achievement of certain performance objectives. We believe that these awards encourage our GMs and EKMs to think and act as business owners, assist in retention of restaurant management and align our managers’ interests with those of our stockholders.
Restaurant-Level Preopening Costs
Due to the highly customized and operationally complex nature of our upscale, high-volume concept and the investment we make in properly training our staff to operate our restaurants, our preopening process is more extensive, time consuming and costly than that of many restaurant chains. Restaurant-level preopening costs for a typical location in an established market average approximately $1.0 million to $1.5 million and include all costs to relocate and compensate restaurant management staff members during the preopening period, costs to recruit and train hourly restaurant staff members, and wages, travel and lodging costs for our opening training team and other support staff members.
Restaurant-level preopening costs can fluctuate significantly from period to period, based on the number and timing of restaurant openings and the specific costs incurred for each restaurant. These costs vary by location depending on a number of factors, including the proximity of our existing restaurants, the size and physical layout of each location, the number of management and hourly staff members required to operate each restaurant, the availability of qualified restaurant staff members, the cost of travel and lodging for different metropolitan areas, the timing of the restaurant opening and the extent of unexpected delays, if any, in obtaining final licenses and permits to open the restaurant, which may also depend on our landlords obtaining their licenses and permits and completing their construction activities. Restaurant-level preopening costs are generally higher for larger restaurants and initial entry into new markets and lower when we relocate a restaurant within its local market. We usually incur the most significant portion of restaurant-level preopening costs within the two months immediately preceding and the month of a restaurant’s opening.
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Licensed Locations
We currently have licensing agreements with three restaurant operators to develop and operate The Cheesecake Factory ® brand restaurants in selected international markets. Our licensees invest their capital to build and operate the restaurants, and we receive initial development fees, site and design fees and ongoing royalties based on our licensees’ restaurant sales. In addition, these licensees purchase bakery products branded under The Cheesecake Factory ® mark from us. As of February 26, 2024, our international licensees operated the following The Cheesecake Factory restaurants:
Licensee Location
Restaurant Location
# of Restaurants
Kuwait (1)
Bahrain
1
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
4
Kuwait
3
Qatar
3
United Arab Emirates
6
Mexico (2)
Mexico
8
Hong Kong (3)
Beijing
1
Chengdu
1
Hong Kong
1
Macau
1
Shanghai
3
Thailand
1
Total
33
(1) This licensee, or its affiliates, also has the right to develop restaurants in Egypt, with the opportunity to expand the agreement to include Algeria, Hungary, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.
(2) This licensee, or its affiliates, also has the right to develop restaurants in Chile, with the opportunity to expand the agreement to include Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
(3) This licensee, or its affiliates, also has the right to develop restaurants in Taiwan, with the opportunity to expand the agreement to include Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.
We are actively working to extend and expand the agreements with our current licensees in their primary geographies and are also exploring potential opportunities to expand our licensing business.
Our corporate infrastructure includes a dedicated global development team that works with our international licensees and coordinates the initial training, ongoing quality control, product specifications and brand oversight at our licensed locations. Our internal audit department also performs periodic reviews of our international licensees’ compliance with our licensing agreements.
As we evaluate other international markets, we will consider opportunities to directly operate certain locations and/or enter into licensing, joint venture or partnership arrangements with established third-party companies. We are selective in our assessment of potential partners and licensees, focusing on well-capitalized companies that have established business infrastructures, expertise in multiple countries, experience in operating upscale casual dining restaurants and sound governance practices. We look to associate with companies who will protect The Cheesecake Factory ® brand and operate the concept in a high-quality, consistent manner.
Due to the complexities of opening The Cheesecake Factory restaurants in other countries, including, but not limited to, the selection and design of appropriate sites, construction of our complex restaurant designs, training of licensees’ staff members, approval of supply sources and exportation of our bakery products to new countries, the number and timing of new openings in foreign countries may vary from expectations.
Consumer Packaged Goods
Given the strong affinity for The Cheesecake Factory ® brand, we leverage opportunities in the consumer packaged goods channel by partnering with various third-party manufacturers to offer a variety of products marketed under The Cheesecake Factory At Home ® mark, including our Famous “Brown Bread,” which is available in select retail stores nationwide. We continue to evaluate other synergistic, on-brand licensing opportunities to add incremental revenue streams to our business.
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North Italia
North Italia is a modern interpretation of Italian cooking in the upscale casual dining segment. North Italia strives to be a modern Italian restaurant with a neighborhood feel, offering classic Italian favorites with a fresh twist made from scratch daily. Contemporary design and décor elements including large dining rooms, high ceilings and open kitchen layouts coupled with a focus on exceptional hospitality and high-quality, personalized service creates a warm, lively atmosphere for guests to create memorable experiences. The menu features a broad selection of delicious, handcrafted dishes including appetizers, salads, fresh pastas, pizzas and entrees, and each restaurant includes unique menu items tailored to local markets. North Italia offers an assortment of wines, beers and house-made cocktails which represented 24% of North Italia sales in fiscal 2023. The average check for each customer, including beverages and desserts, for fiscal 2023 averaged approximately $33.60 for lunch and approximately $43.25 for dinner. Our North Italia restaurants are generally open seven days a week for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Currently, we operate 37 North Italia restaurants.
With Italian cuisine the number one ethnic food category in the United States, coupled with strong national reception of the North Italia concept to-date, we believe there is potential for 200 domestic locations over time, which supports our plan for approximately 20% average annual unit growth. Average sales per location open for the full year for North Italia restaurants were approximately $7.8 million for fiscal 2023, or approximately $1,200 per productive square foot. We target an average North Italia unit size of 6,000 to 7,000 square feet, and total construction costs average approximately $800 per interior square foot. Restaurant-level preopening costs for a typical location in an established market average approximately $0.6 million to $0.8 million and include all costs to relocate and compensate restaurant management staff members during the preopening period, costs to recruit and train hourly restaurant staff members, and wages, travel and lodging costs for our opening training team and other support staff members.
Flower Child and Fox Restaurant Concepts
Flower Child operates in the fast casual dining segment, offering a customizable menu, made fresh from scratch, featuring locally-sourced, all-natural and organic ingredients. Flower Child provides us an opportunity to diversify our portfolio in a strong and growing niche. Currently, we operate 32 Flower Child locations and target approximately 15% to 20% average annual unit growth for this concept. Average sales per location open for the full year for the Flower Child restaurants were approximately $4.1 million for fiscal 2023, or approximately $1,100 per interior square foot. We target an average Flower Child unit size of 3,000 to 4,000 square feet, and total construction costs average approximately $700 per interior square foot.
FRC operates as an independent subsidiary in Phoenix, Arizona and serves as an incubation engine, innovating new food, dining and hospitality experiences to create fresh, exciting concepts. With over a dozen evolving restaurant brands launched to-date, its concepts are diverse in industry segment, occasions, square footage and geography. Other FRC potential growth concepts include Culinary Dropout and Blanco, which together with the other FRC brands, serve as an ecosystem for talent, menu and design development. Currently, we operate 41 Other FRC locations. We target approximately 10% to 15% average annual unit growth for the aggregate Other FRC portfolio, complemented by additional market tests of the potential growth concepts. Average sales per location open for the full year for the Other FRC restaurants were approximately $6.5 million for fiscal 2023, or approximately $1,100 per interior square foot. We target an average FRC unit size of 3,500 to 15,000 square feet, and total construction costs average approximately $650 per interior square foot, depending on the concept.
Bakery Operations
We own and operate two bakery production facilities, one in Calabasas Hills, California, and one in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Our facility in California accommodates both production operations and corporate support personnel, while our facility in North Carolina houses production operations and a distribution center. In October 2023, we announced plans for a third bakery production facility in Charleston, Indiana. We produce approximately 60 varieties of proprietary cheesecakes and other baked desserts using high-quality ingredients for The Cheesecake Factory restaurants and for international licensees and third-party customers.
The primary role of our bakery operations is to produce innovative, high-quality cheesecakes and other baked desserts for sale at our restaurants and those of our international licensees. Integration of this vital part of our brand gives us control over the creativity and quality of our desserts and is also more profitable than buying from a third party. We also leverage The Cheesecake Factory brand identity and utilize our bakery production capacity by selling cheesecakes and other baked products to external foodservice operators, retailers and distributors. Current large-account customers include retail and supermarkets, foodservice distributors and operators, a national retail bookstore, other restaurants and national warehouse clubs. Additionally, we currently sell a selection of our cakes online and in catalogs domestically through an agreement with an upscale retailer. Items produced for outside
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accounts are marketed under The Cheesecake Factory At Home ® and The Cheesecake Factory Bakery ® marks, as well as private labels.
We sell baked goods internationally in approximately 15 countries under The Cheesecake Factory At Home ® mark. Offering our cheesecakes and other baked desserts internationally is important to our branding, creating awareness and driving demand, not only for bakery products but for the international expansion of our restaurants.
Human Capital
At the heart of our culture is the belief that our people are the foundation of our success. We depend on our staff members to effectively execute all aspects of our day-to-day operations that differentiate our concepts. Our ability to attract highly motivated staff members and retain an engaged, experienced team is key to successful execution of our strategy. While we continue to operate in a competitive labor environment, we believe our people practices contribute significantly to our ability to attract talent and to The Cheesecake Factory restaurants’ historically industry-leading retention rates.
Retention and engagement of our staff members is fostered by our investment and support particularly in the following areas:
Culture
Cultivating and maintaining our culture is a key strategic focus. Our core values and purpose reflect who we are and how our staff members interact with one another, as well as with our customers and other external stakeholders.
Our purpose – to nurture bodies, minds, hearts and spirits – and our values – quality in everything we do; passion for excellence; integrity, respect and responsibility; people – our greatest resource; service-mindedness; dynamic leadership; high performance and create a sustainable future – are the foundation of our company culture. We seek to embed our purpose in everything we do by cultivating a sense of pride and belonging to the Company and our brands. We are proud of the way our people nurture one another and extend that nurturing to our customers and communities.
We believe our efforts to build and maintain a strong culture have contributed to three notable recognitions in 2023. We were named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For ® list for a tenth consecutive year, the PEOPLE Companies that Care ® list for a third consecutive year and the Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials List for a seventh year.
Development and Training
We invest significant resources to ensure our people receive, what we believe is industry-leading training in order to maximize their potential. We strive to provide our staff with career advancement opportunities, and our fiscal 2023 internal management promotion rate at The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia concepts was 41%. Our hourly staff members and managers receive a considerable amount of training through a combination of in-person learning and development and online coursework. In addition to company-provided job training, we encourage the pursuit of educational opportunities at The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia restaurants for all hourly staff members through free high school equivalency and associate degree programs. We also offer a limited education reimbursement to our staff seeking post-secondary education.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
We strive to offer an atmosphere of inclusion and belonging for all. We believe the cultural alignment we seek to cultivate around respect and inclusion builds trust and promotes teamwork to achieve our common goals. Furthermore, when our people feel valued and respected for their worth as individuals, they are better able to maximize their potential at work and more likely to share their perspectives, opinions and ideas, which contributes to our ability to innovate. We created our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging working group to help provide focus, feedback and ideas in this important area.
We conduct inclusive leadership training for above-restaurant leadership and restaurant managers and regularly review our interview processes for key above-restaurant leadership to enhance opportunity and development for candidates at The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia concepts. We also offer support groups such as The Cheesecake Factory Women’s Network Group and the Female Kitchen Leader’s Program, that provides qualified high potential managers with programing and events to spend time with each other to network and also meet organizational leaders. Another example is the Diverse Leaders Program, which provides networking and development opportunities for managers from diverse racial or ethnic groups. As of January 2, 2024, approximately
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47% of The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia staff members were women and approximately 73% of The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia staff members were racially or ethnically diverse. Further details on representation can be found in our most recent CSR Report (see “Corporate Social Responsibility” below).
We are committed to conducting pay analyses among our The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia restaurants, as well as our bakery and corporate teams, to help evaluate that we are paying fairly and equitably. We are committed to conducting both internal reviews and external third-party audits and verification to inform this evaluation. We have also trained our recruiters to help enable them to identify and address pay equity issues during the hiring process utilizing internal reporting and partnership with the compensation team.
Benefits and Wellness
We believe access to healthcare is a compelling benefit for many staff members, and we offer healthcare benefits to our hourly staff members who work a minimum of 25 hours per week, on average. We provide a robust suite of benefits and wellness offerings, including free mental health resources, free tutoring to support our staff and managers, and access to chronic disease care management, substance abuse treatment, a maternal health program, financial wellness resources and adoption assistance. The Cheesecake Factory and North Italia staff, as well as our bakery and corporate teams, have paid sick time available to them starting at hire and are eligible to earn vacation time.
Employee Engagement
As of January 2, 2024, we employed approximately 47,900 people, with approximately 46,250 in our restaurants and the remainder in our corporate support center, FRC headquarters and bakery operations. We believe that engaging our workforce is a key factor in our business success and in turn, have developed programs to promote enthusiasm and commitment, while providing a sense of belonging. We measure our performance in this area through an annual engagement survey and pulse surveys throughout the year. These surveys give staff company-wide the opportunity to share honest feedback about their work experience. Based on survey results, leaders across the Company are tasked with responsibility for creating action plans to address and respond to staff feedback. Listening to our staff members is an essential part of building an engaged workforce, and we provide additional avenues for staff to share their ideas and concerns, including our internal crowdsourcing innovation website and our Careline, which staff can use to confidentially express their concerns, as well as restaurant townhalls where our staff can bring their ideas and concerns forward. Our staff members are not covered by any collective bargaining agreements, and we consider our staff member relations to be good.
A significant part of our employee engagement strategy involves staff appreciation and recognition efforts.We hold key cultural events such as our week-long team appreciation celebrations, manager recognitions, Commitment to Excellence staff member awards and new menu rollout all-staff meetings.
Giving Back
Another key aspect of our culture is giving back to the communities where our staff live and work, as well as uniting our staff members around charitable causes personal to them. We provide donations to Feeding America and participate in their annual campaign as an opportunity to engage our teams in a culturally-aligning company-wide service program. We have similarly promoted our teams’ participation in community volunteer events, and through our gift card program, we contribute to local fundraising events for community non-profit organizations. Additionally, we provide a method for our staff members to assist other staff members in need through our The Cheesecake Factory “HELP” fund.
We also participate in a nationwide food donation program which redirects surplus food away from landfills to local food banks and non-profit organizations, and believe our sustainability programs and initiatives like restaurant-based composting and recycling and replacing our off-premise packaging with materials that reduce the use of plastics and improve recyclability serve to foster pride in our staff.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
For us, the term “Corporate Social Responsibility” or “CSR” informs how we operate in relation to our people and communities, natural environment and our supply chain. We evaluate our business and how we operate our corporate-owned restaurants in an effort to identify, create and implement meaningful and sustained change. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of our Board is responsible for reviewing the Company’s sustainability and CSR policies. For more information, please review our most recent CSR report on the Corporate Social Responsibility page on our website at www.thecheesecakefactory.com . The contents of the CSR report and our website are expressly not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.
Purchasing and Distribution
Our purchasing philosophy is designed to procure quality ingredients, supplies and services for our operations from reliable sources at competitive prices and consistent with our sustainability goals. We research and evaluate various ingredients and products in an effort to maintain high quality, be responsive to changing consumer tastes and manage costs. Should any items from a particular supply source become unavailable, we generally believe that these items could be obtained, or alternative products substituted, in sufficient quantities from other sources to allow us to avoid any long-term material adverse effects that could be caused by such unavailability.
In order to maximize purchasing efficiencies and to obtain the freshest ingredients that meet our required standards, each restaurant’s management determines the quantities of food and supplies needed for their location and orders the items from qualified local, regional, national and international suppliers based upon specifications determined and terms negotiated at a corporate level. We strive to maintain restaurant-level inventories at a minimum dollar level in relation to sales due to the relatively rapid turnover of the perishable commodities we use in our operations, coupled with the limited storage space at our restaurants. Independent foodservice distributors, including the largest foodservice distributor in North America, deliver most items multiple times per week to our restaurants.
The cost of products and services used in our operations are subject to volatility due to the relative availability of labor and distribution, weather, natural disasters, inventory levels and other supply and/or demand impacting events such as pandemics, geopolitical events, economic conditions or other unforeseen circumstances. Climate change may further exacerbate a number of these factors. During fiscal 2021, we began to experience certain supply shortages and transportation delays largely attributable to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages continued in fiscal 2022 and were exacerbated by geopolitical unrest. The aggregate impact of these and other factors contributed to significant cost inflation. While we have seen improvements in many of these areas, the absolute level of commodity costs has remained elevated contributing to ongoing inflation above historic levels.
We attempt to negotiate short-term and long-term agreements for some of our principal commodity, supply and equipment requirements, such as certain dairy products and poultry, depending on market conditions and expected demand. While we are in the process of contracting for certain key food and non-food supplies for fiscal 2024, these efforts may not be successful or yield our intended benefits. We continue to evaluate the possibility of entering into similar arrangements for other commodities and periodically evaluate hedging vehicles, such as direct financial instruments, to assist us in managing risk and variability associated with such commodities. As of the end of fiscal 2023, we had no financial hedging contracts in place.
Information Technology
Our technology-enabled business solutions are designed to provide effective financial controls, cost management, improved efficiencies and enhanced customer experience. Our business intelligence solution and data warehouse architecture provide corporate and restaurant management with information and insights into key operational metrics and performance indicators. This framework delivers enterprise reporting, dashboards and analytics, and allows access to metrics such as quote and wait time accuracy, staff member retention trends, and restaurant quality and service analyses.
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Our restaurant systems are designed to enhance the guest experience, protect guest information and allow our staff to focus on delivering the best experience possible. We have implemented systems for touchless/online menu, ordering and payment, inventory management, labor management, recipe management, kitchen order orchestration and table management. Our kitchen order orchestration tool is designed to route items in such a way that balances the workload across multiple stations to ensure our guests receive the highest quality menu items. Our labor management tool delivers optimized scheduling based on business demands and staff availability coupled with web and app-based access delivering flexibility to our staff. Guest payment data is of the utmost importance, and we employ measures to help ensure every payment is secured and encrypted.
Information and cybersecurity is a priority for us and is led by a multi-disciplinary security team, overseen by our interdepartmental Information Security Council representing our key functional areas. We have developed and implemented a cybersecurity risk management program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our critical systems and information. We continue to invest and innovate around the areas of protection of systems, sensitive data, technology, and processes using third-party and in-house tools and resources. We remain focused on protecting against new and emerging risks utilizing our tools and security teams and continue to review and make strategic investments in our systems intended to help keep the Company’s, our guests’, and our team members’ data secure. (See Item 1C – Cybersecurity of this report for further discussion on our cybersecurity.)
Marketing and Advertising
The Cheesecake Factory
We rely on our reputation, as well as our high-profile locations, media exposure and positive “word of mouth,” to maintain and grow market share. Historically, we have not used significant paid national advertising through television, radio or print, nor significant discounting for on-premise dining occasions. We utilize a social media and digital marketing strategy that allows us to engage regularly with our customers outside of our restaurants, including communication and paid advertising on social media platforms such as Instagram ® and TikTok ® and other, influencer marketing, Google search advertising and direct email to customers. We refreshed our website in 2022, including our online ordering capabilities. We launched our Cheesecake Rewards TM program nationally in 2023 with the objective to leverage data analytics and insights to engage more effectively with our guests and drive incremental sales while maintaining our restaurant level margins.
Public relations is another important aspect of our marketing approach, and we frequently appear on local and national television in connection with a variety of promotional opportunities, such as National Cheesecake Day, to perform cooking demonstrations and other brand-building exposure. We generated approximately 15.1 billion media impressions in fiscal 2023 at minimal cost to us. To raise awareness in the off-premise channel, we execute marketing campaigns with our third-party delivery provider and through our online ordering platform. In addition, we work with several premiere third-party gift card distributors, contributing to our brand awareness and gift card sales, as well as our consumer packaged goods licensees on co-branded marketing campaigns.
Our international licensees are committed to opening each new restaurant with marketing that can be comprised of a mix of elements including print, billboards, digital and radio. We maintain final approval of our licensees’ marketing campaigns and social media posts to promote consistency in the look and feel of marketing efforts including our brand, domestically and abroad.
North Italia and FRC
North Italia and FRC execute localized marketing programs focused on awareness, frequency and brand engagement through a variety of channels, including store-level marketing, public relations, in-store events, digital advertising, email programs and social media. Each restaurant is positioned as an individual brand with a neighborhood connection. Additionally, the restaurant interiors and exteriors are utilized for brand engagement and messaging through art and graphics, creating an important part of a brand experience for the customer. We believe minimal discounts ensure compelling brand proposition for experience and value.
Seasonality and Quarterly Results
While seasonal fluctuations generally do not have a material impact on our quarterly results, year-over-year comparisons can be significantly impacted by factors such as significant differences in year-over-year inflation, the number and timing of new restaurant openings and associated preopening costs, the timing of holidays, inclement weather and the additional week in a 53-week
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fiscal year. Therefore, our financial results for any quarter or fiscal year are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for the full fiscal year or subsequent fiscal years.
Food Safety and Quality Assurance
Our food safety processes and systems are designed to mitigate the risk of contamination and illness and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements as well as industry standards. Adherence is monitored through routine restaurant management reviews, third-party health inspection/food safety audits and regulatory agency inspections. In addition, our bakery facilities are Safe Quality Food certified in alignment with the Global Food Safety Initiative’s Global Markets Program. Our restaurants and bakery facilities also follow regulatory guidelines required for conducting and managing ingredient and product traceability. We utilize a web-based solution to efficiently contact our restaurants and monitor progress in the event of a product withdrawal or recall.
In selecting suppliers, we utilize key performance indicators relating to sanitation, operations and facility management, good manufacturing and agricultural practices, product protection, government inspections and compliance, recovery and food security. We perform annual food safety and quality system audits for certain suppliers, while others are audited every other year or as needed.
Government Laws and Regulations
Our Company is subject to numerous federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations. Each of our restaurants is subject to various laws and regulations, including license and permit requirements, that regulate many aspects of our business, including, among other things, alcoholic beverage control, health, sanitation, labor, immigration, zoning and public safety. We are also subject to various environmental regulations governing areas such as water usage, sanitation disposal and transportation mitigation.
Our international business exposes us to additional laws and regulations, including, without limitation, antitrust and tax requirements, anti-boycott legislation, import/export and customs regulations and other international trade regulations, privacy laws that may differ from U.S. privacy laws, anti-terrorism laws and anti-corruption laws.
As a provider of food products, we are subject to a comprehensive regulatory framework that governs the manufacture (including composition and ingredients), labeling, packaging and safety of food.
In order to serve alcoholic beverages in our restaurants or off-premise where permitted, we must comply with alcoholic beverage control regulations which require us to apply to a state and/or other governmental alcoholic beverage control authority for licenses and permits. In addition, we are subject to dram shop statutes in most of the jurisdictions in which we operate, which generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. Dram shop litigation may result in significant judgments, including punitive damages. We attempt to mitigate this risk by carrying liquor liability insurance coverage.
Various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations govern our operations as they relate to our staff members, including such matters as minimum wages, breaks, scheduling, exempt classifications, equal pay, overtime, tip credits, fringe benefits, leaves, safety, working conditions, provision of health insurance and citizenship or work authorization requirements. We must also comply with local, state and federal laws and regulations protecting the right to equal employment opportunities and prohibiting discrimination and harassment in the workplace. We regularly review and update our training and awareness programs addressing these concerns. We are also subject to the regulations of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Our facilities must comply with applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) and related federal, state and foreign laws and regulations which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability with respect to public accommodations and employment. We take steps to ensure our places of public accommodation and our website comply with the requirements of the ADA and related state and local laws and regulations. We also make reasonable accommodations for the employment of disabled persons as required by applicable laws and regulations.
A significant number of our hourly restaurant staff members receive income from gratuities. In the United States, many of our locations currently participate in a Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (“TRAC”) agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and we intend to apply to participate in any successor program to TRAC. By complying with the educational and
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other requirements of the TRAC agreement (or its successor), we reduce the likelihood of potential employer-only FICA tax assessments for unreported tips.
We are subject to laws and regulations relating to information security, privacy, cashless payments and consumer credit protection and fraud. We make efforts to comply with an increasing number of data privacy laws, regulations and industry standards regarding the protection of personally identifiable information and protected health information.
Trade Names, Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property
We own and have applied to register trade names, logos, service marks, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) in the United States, Canada and in additional countries throughout the world in various categories, including without limitation, restaurant services and bakery goods. We regard our Intellectual Property, including “The Cheesecake Factory,” “North Italia,” and a collection with the Fox Restaurant Concepts subsidiary, as well as our trade dress, as having substantial value and as being important to our marketing efforts. Our policy is to pursue registration of our important Intellectual Property whenever commercially feasible and to vigorously oppose any infringement of it. Generally, with appropriate renewal and use, the registration of our Intellectual Property will continue indefinitely. We have also registered various internet domain names, including, “www.thecheesecakefactory.com,” “www.northitalia.com,” and “www.foxrc.com.”
Executive Officers of the Registrant
David Overton, age 77, serves as our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Overton co-founded our predecessor company in 1972 with his parents, Oscar and Evelyn Overton. He is also a founding member and director of our Foundation.
David M. Gordon, age 59, was appointed President of the Company in February 2013. Mr. Gordon joined our Company in 1993 as a Manager and held operational positions, including General Manager, Area Director of Operations, Regional Vice President and Chief Operating Officer prior to his appointment as President. He is also a director of our Foundation.
Matthew E. Clark, age 54, was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2017. Mr. Clark joined our Company in 2006 as Vice President of Strategic Planning and most recently oversaw the strategy, financial planning, treasury and risk management functions as Senior Vice President, Finance and Strategy. Earlier in his career, Mr. Clark held a number of finance positions of increasing responsibility at Groupe Danone, Kinko’s and The Walt Disney Company. He is also a director of our Foundation.
Keith T. Carango, age 62, serves as President of The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Incorporated, our bakery subsidiary. Mr. Carango joined our bakery operations in 1996 to lead manufacturing and provide continuous improvement to the bakery operation. In his most recent role of Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, he oversaw strategic planning, supply chain, manufacturing, distribution, human resources, quality assurance and finance. Prior to joining the Company, he held manufacturing and finance roles at Frito-Lay, Inc. and Prince Foods.
Scarlett May, age 57, serves as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Ms. May joined our Company in 2018, from Brinker International, Inc., where she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary from 2014 to 2018. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for Ruby Tuesday, Inc. following her earlier career in private practice.
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