The Reason Cheesecake Factories Are Decorated So Extravagantly

The Cheesecake Factory could easily be described as being over-the-top. From its menus that are as long as novels to its huge food portions to the extensive cheesecake options (there are more than 30), some people love the excessiveness, while others see it all as needlessly extreme. Even the décor of the giant restaurant is dizzying because of the broad scope of its design influences.

Instead of focusing on one design aesthetic, like modern or mid-century, or even cheesecake, The Cheesecake Factory as a whole combines design aspects from ancient Egypt, France, and the Victorian era. The company's one-time head designer, Rick McCormack, explained to Eater that the overall design concept came from founder David Overton, whose inspiration stemmed from San Francisco restaurants in the 1970s. McCormack joined the team just in time to design the company's sixth location, and admitted, "If I try to describe to you what it looks like, you'd probably think it was one of the most horrible-looking places around." Yet, the extravagance clearly appealed to the masses.

For first-time visitors to The Cheesecake Factory, it's a bit like Alice stepping into Wonderland. You cross the threshold and can't help but to be awed by your surroundings, and then of course you see the cheesecake display, and immediately decide to stay, even if it's just to have dessert. But, back to Wonderland ... McCormack noted to Eater that some of the constants are French limestone floors, Victorian beadboard siding (thanks to those San Franciscan eateries), and very prominent Egyptian-style columns.

There are also French bistro chairs next to dark paneled wood at the banquette seats (which people either love or hate), tiled mosaics, and European-style frescos, although the images don't look so much European as they do whimsical and fantasy-like. Dark, subdued colors sit next to golds, which in turn are the background for bright blues, pinks, and greens. It doesn't make any sense, but somehow, it all works. 

Like its décor, the menu at The Cheesecake Factory isn't necessarily supposed to make sense, and that's precisely the point. The draw is the variety, the excess — the wackiness, if you will. Of course, it's also the cheesecake, which is what the business is based on. Whether you've ordered an all-American cheeseburger, orange chicken, or a plate of pasta carbonara, you're at least going to be enticed to save a sliver of room for a slice of cheesecake. Curiously, while the food is made in-house at each location, the cheesecakes are not, but that doesn't seem to dissuade many diners from ordering them.

The business started in 1972 when Oscar and Evelyn Overton opened up a bakery in Southern California where Evelyn made her signature cheesecakes and sold them to local restaurants. She was soon creating multiple flavors and varieties and, due to her success, her son, David, opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1978, to highlight her cheesecakes and also offer meals.

So, perhaps, the idea of variety as the "theme" of the restaurant began in the early 1970s with Evelyn's more than 20 varieties of cheesecakes and desserts available to the Angeleno masses. And if it's variety the family wanted, they certainly succeeded in making it flow throughout the business's nearly 200 locations (and their décor).