The Cheesecake Factory will open its first Idaho location at the Boise Towne Square mall in the fall.
The California-based restaurant, known for its namesake selection of cheesecakes, will be a new tenant in the mall's 35,000-square-foot expansion, which is now under way.
The Cheesecake Factory was founded in Beverly Hills in 1978. The restaurant offers more than 200 menu items, from pizza and pasta to steaks and seafood. But it's best known for its 50 varieties of cheesecakes and desserts.
The company currently has 107 locations nationwide, including the Seattle and Portland restaurants, which are closest to Boise.
The Cheesecake Factory typically locates in larger metropolitan markets.
Howard Gordon, senior vice president of business development and marketing for The Cheesecake Factory, said the growth and strong economy in Boise was the deciding factor in the company's decision to come to Boise.
The Cheesecake Factory is very selective and will only go to markets where they can guarantee success. The company is only opening 21 locations this year.
"We want to make sure we're picking the right location," Gordon said. "We have never closed a restaurant and don't intend to."
The Cheesecake Factory announcement follows a recent trend started by P.F. Chang's, an upscale Asian chain restaurant.
P.F. Chang's was the first of the upscale chain restaurants that tend to locate in larger markets to recognize the growth in the Boise area. It opened on Halloween in 2005 in BoDo.
"It's been a great move for us," Laura Cherry, a spokesperson for P.F. Chang's, said Tuesday. "The store has been incredibly well received and is performing beautifully, above and beyond our expectations."
Cherry said she wasn't surprised that other upscale chains such as The Cheesecake Factory would locate in Boise.
"We've been looking at Boise for a number of years, and we expected others would follow as well," she said.
Boise's strong economy and low unemployment makes the area attractive, said John Panter, a regional labor economist with Idaho Commerce and Labor.
"One of the reasons restaurants are targeting the area is because they view the Treasure Valley as a big growth market," Panter said.
In addition to The Cheesecake Factory, Borders Books & Music will move from its Milwaukee Street location across from Home Depot to a new 22,000-square-foot site in the mall's expansion.
More retailers will be announced as the leases are finalized, Mike Enslow, the mall's general manager, said in a news release.
留言列表
