The Cheesecake Factory in trouble?

[gottalovepluto]

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[gottalovepluto]

Yeah, I have a TON of gift cards to use, many of which are restaurant gift cards. Most of them are corporate so I'm thinking most should be okay. But, there are definitely some gift cards in there that may end up having no value. I hope I'm wrong.

It's interesting, because a couple of weeks ago, people were saying to buy gift cards to your favorite restaurants if you could, to keep them afloat during this time. But, many of those restaurants could go under. So, while it was a noble thought, maybe it wasn't the best suggestion.

I'd also add that Subway has said the same thing, that they are not paying April's rent. I don't foresee anything happening to Subway, so hopefully Cheesecake Factory will be fine. I do have a CF gift card, but the nearest one is 2 hours away, so I doubt I'll be using it anytime soon.

Subway said they might not pay April rent or might pay reduced April rent and are dealing with a different group of landlords and franchisees than Cheesecake Factory. Apples and oranges really. Cheesecake Factory is dealing with mostly large landlords in ritzy areas and has said they definitely will not pay. Depending on state laws and their leases the landlords might straight up lock Cheescake Factory out of their local store and seize all the assets inside until rent is paid. In some states they can do that after just a few days of contract violation.

That said, I will also definitely be spending my Subway gift cards! They’re not as desperate as Cheesecake Factory but they’re too close for my comfort and I’d rather skip the desperate scale all together for my gift cards...

 

[wendow]

I used my 4 free slices of joy a couple of weeks ago but still sitting on a $50 gc. I am planning to use in the next few days. I have tons of restaurant GC's so I need to think about getting those spent soon. I worry about the restaurant industry after this

 

[kaytieeldr]

I did notice that the Vanilla Bean, the Smores and the Lemon Cheesecake were not on the menu at my store today when I looked online. Hmmmm. It could have been a error but they were not there.

No chocolate chip cookie dough, either And it was there last week or the week before.

 

[tvguy]

Oh man, we love our local Cheesecake. Great service!

LOL. Glad you have great service. Something around here they are not known for. Just high prices.

 

[Toolulu22]

LOL. Glad you have great service. Something around here they are not known for. Just high prices.

With chain restaurants I believe it boils down to individual locations. Our local CC is one our go to spots despite being a chain and high prices. I always use $25 or $50 Amex GC to deduct from our total to take the sting off the bill. Ours also has good happy hour specials.

 

[SL6827]

No chocolate chip cookie dough, either And it was there last week or the week before.

That one was on the menu for the Chattanooga location yesterday. Weird. If I don't go today, I will need to do this tomorrow for certain.

 

[SL6827]

LOL. Glad you have great service. Something around here they are not known for. Just high prices.

Yes, my favorite dish, Crispy Chicken Constoletta, was up $1 to 18.50. But I will say that one meal there will feed me and my husband on a visit.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I used my 4 free slices of joy a couple of weeks ago but still sitting on a $50 gc. I am planning to use in the next few days. I have tons of restaurant GC's so I need to think about getting those spent soon. I worry about the restaurant industry after this

They furloughed 41k workers today (said to be 90% of their workforce)...

 

[SL6827]

Ya I will go either this evening or tomorrow for sure.

 

[dez1978]

They will likely get a reprieve on the rent, as someone mentioned these are largely attached to large malls, and at this point, likely none of the mall tenants can afford to pay rent. The mall companies will likely grant them an extension on the rent payments.

On another note, how is such a company unable to pay rent only 2 weeks after most shut down? How is it possible that they are already out of money entirely? It seems like they may have been on the brink long before this.

Payroll is usually a couple weeks behind, so that will need to be paid after the shut down for the final payroll. Gov't still wants their cut, There are still utility bills to be paid and overhead costs that don't go away just because you are temporarily closed. Rent alone is probably more than 10k per month or considerably higher depending on the market. Im not sure if any of the Cheesecake factories are franchised or if they are all corporate owned. But franchises of these large chains like this, they are not gonna survive. We own a few restaurants, all one type of franchise. Out of approx. 500 stores in the country, only 2-300 will be able to afford to reopen. You put most of your money back into your business to grow it and to pay to get and keep good employees and it takes a really long time to actually make the money people assume restaurant owners make. And that doesn't include royalties to the corp and all sorts of other things. And if and when some of these reopen, it will not be anything like it was before.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ya I will go either this evening or tomorrow for sure.

Yeah, I'm going tomorrow. I truly hope they survive, but too, I don't want to lose the vaue of my GCs. Or my cheesecake bonuses. Hey, did y'all know you can freeze cheesecake?

 

[SL6827]

Yeah, I'm going tomorrow. I truly hope they survive, but too, I don't want to lose the vaue of my GCs. Or my cheesecake bonuses. Hey, did y'all know you can freeze cheesecake?

I do hope they survive as well. I like a lot of their food beside the cheesecake. I am just trying to figure out what I am going to order tomorrow. I have like 3 or 4 free slices of cheesecake, then I will get an additional one free with a $30 order and then I have the $50 worth of gift cards. Not sure if I should order food and cheesecake or just a bunch of cheesecake and freeze some.

 

[wendow]

Yeah, I'm going tomorrow. I truly hope they survive, but too, I don't want to lose the vaue of my GCs. Or my cheesecake bonuses. Hey, did y'all know you can freeze cheesecake?

I picked up all my free slices last week and froze them. I guess now we will get another couple free ones. Thankfully we have lots of freezer space. We love CCF though it’s pricey for a fam our size so it’s a few times a year treat. I sure hope they survive!!

 

[SL6827]

I picked up all my free slices last week and froze them. I guess now we will get another couple free ones. Thankfully we have lots of freezer space. We love CCF though it’s pricey for a fam our size so it’s a few times a year treat. I sure hope they survive!!

Right, it is not a every week type of dining. And especially for me, it would only be a once in a while now. But I had rather have cheesecake in the freezer than to lose the value of what I have.

 

[dclpluto]

It's possible that this is just a play to not have to pay rent for a few months. They might have the money on hand to pay all the rents, but would damage the company to do so. So they send a letter to all of them to see which ones they can get out of paying rent for.


Or this is the first domino.

yep that’s what I was thinking.

 

[DVCjj]

Wish I could take advantage of the good Cheesecake promo before they close their doors but ours are in malls and we are in Lockdown/Shelter in Place and the malls are totally closed.

I didn't know about Subway and appreciated knowing. It would be nice if anyone could let us know if they hear any further about closings because I definitely have numerous gift cards. Tons of Olive Garden and PF Changs for sure. I know Olive Garden could be used at Seasons 52 which we like but I don't even trust them staying open. We did do an Olive Garden and Chik Fil A takeout and also a local breakfast place. All seemed extremely grateful for the order and the nice tip. I even purposely paid cash (which I usually do not do) because I feel why make them pay an extra 2-3% credit charge.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Not sure if I should order food and cheesecake or just a bunch of cheesecake and freeze some.

In case you opt for the cheesecake freeze https://www.wikihow.com/Freeze-Cheesecake section two, start at step four. Decline the whipped cream, or remove it at home and put it on something else.

Wish I could take advantage of the good Cheesecake promo before they close their doors but ours are in malls and we are in Lockdown/Shelter in Place and the malls are totally closed.

you
Sorry about the shelter in place. If there's any way you can go out (I mean, food is necessary), check the Cheesecake Factory website. The few near here all have outside entrances and are open with shortened hours, even though the malls are closed.

 

[undertheradar]

The 20% salary reduction for executives is a joke! The base salary for the ceo is $995k. Big sacrifice compared to what the rank and file are losing.

 

[Jimsig]

Honestly, with so many Cheesecake Factories being located in Simon Malls, and management closing the malls, I can't see how Simon can ethically evict them. I mean, stores are completely closed (originally dueto the malls closing) but no retailers are threatening to go out of business.

At my local Simon Mall all the inside restaurants are closed but 12 with outside access are still open including the CF. Granted they are not getting the business they usually get. But I also can't see Simon evicting them, they will probably work out some sort of agreement. I'm sure Simon does not want to loose a long time tenant because of what is going on now. It may not be easy to find someone to take over that space so Simon has to balance that. I'm sure CF said that about not being able to make rents to posture for a change in terms of the lease, if even for a short term basis.

But I also think if I had a GC I would use it just to be safe.