Cheesecake Factory confirms it is closing a location – customers blame malls for closure and vow to take action – The US Sun

CHEESECAKE Factory will close a major mall in Tennessee.

Next month, the restaurant located in the Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis will close its doors for good, and the news will come as a shock to employees.

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This location, which opened in 2015, will officially close on July 14, as confirmed by the manager to the local CBS affiliate WREG-TV.

Although the manager confirmed the restaurant’s closure, he did not confirm the reason for the location’s closure.

And the employees don’t know why either.

In fact, workers said they learned of the closure and subsequent termination of their jobs just this week.

“We’re just hoping that the employees who have been there a long time can find something,” said location manager Jennifer Madrigao.

“A place like the Cheesecake Factory moves management, but when it comes to veteran employees, not everyone is able to move,” she explains.

The closure follows a opposite trend for the restaurant in recent years.

In fact, some residents suggest they need to take their concerns to city hall and demand action.

“I’m calling city hall to find out what the economic planning team is doing to maintain and bring business to the city,” community resident Lele Hughhes said on Facebook.

The Cheesecake Factory, unlike most chains today, is in a growth phase.

This means they plan as many new locations as possible.

In the last quarter of 2023 alone, the company opened nine new restaurants.

“During the quarter, we opened nine new restaurants to strong consumer demand,” company president and CEO David Overton said in a press release at the time.

“We believe we are well positioned to build on this momentum and continue to accelerate unit growth to achieve our long-term development objectives,” he continued.

Then in May, the company reported that five more locations had opened across the country in the first quarter of this year.

The Company states that it expects to open up to 22 new restaurants this year alone.

“Cheesecake Factory restaurant comparable sales and traffic once again significantly outperformed the industry,” Overton said in the quarterly report.

The company currently owns and operates 335 restaurants in the United States and Canada.

But that number will drop to 334 in mid-July when Wolfchase Galleria closes its doors.

“‘Memphis’ was an absolute journey,” said Madrigao, who originally moved to the Memphis restaurant from Texas.

“I learned to love the team,” she said, wishing everyone the best of luck in the future.