The Cheesecake Factory comes to Kentwood, heading to Woodland Mall

The Cheesecake Factory adds a new location: Woodland Mall. There are now more than 200 The Cheesecake Factory restaurants around the globe. The one pictured above is in Hong Kong. (Wikipedia)

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Area residents will no longer have to travel to Chicago or Detroit to get their cheesecake fix as The Cheesecake Factory will be opening at Woodland Mall.

In a series of redevelopment milestones at Woodland Mall, PREIT announced The Cheesecake Factory will open in 2019, further establishing its presence as the premier retail, dining and entertainment destination in West Michigan.

According to mall officials, in an effort to elevate the dining experience and expand the mall’s trade area, PREIT has executed a lease with The Cheesecake Factory for its first location in West Michigan and second location in the state. That other location is at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi. The 8,500-square-foot restaurant is slated to open at Woodland Mall in late October.

“Since opening our first restaurant in Beverly Hills more than 40 years ago, The Cheesecake Factory has become known for creating delicious, memorable experiences for millions of guests around the country, and we’re so pleased to be opening our first restaurant in Grand Rapids,” said The Cheesecake Factory Inc. Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer David Overton. “We look forward to opening in Woodland Mall this fall.”

The Cheesecake Factory actually got its start in Michigan. In the 1940s, Evelyn Overton found a recipe in the local newspaper that would inspire her “Original” Cheesecake. The cheesecake became so popular that she decided to open a cheesecake shop, but eventually gave up the dream in order to raise her children, David and Renee.

In 1972, with their children grown, Evelyn and her husband, Oscar, decided to pursue the dream one more time and moved to Los Angeles. They opened The Cheesecake Factory and began selling cheesecakes to restaurants throughout Los Angeles. In 1978, their son, David, opened a restaurant to showcase his mother’s cheesecake selections. There are now more than 200 The Cheesecake Factory restaurants around the world.

The cheesecake case at The Cheesecake Factory. (Public Domain)

The Cheesecake Factory restaurant, which has won numerous awards including Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” six years in a row, is known for its extensive menu, generous portions and legendary desserts. The restaurant features more than 250 menu selections including SkinnyLicious® dishes with 590 calories or less and Saturday and Sunday brunch – all handmade, in-house with fresh ingredients – and more than 50 signature cheesecakes such as Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Cheesecake, Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, the Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake along with the Original Cheesecake. The restaurant also has other desserts such as Linda’s Fudge Cake, Carrot Cake, Lemocello Cream Torte, and hot fudge sundaes.

The Cheesecake Factory will join Black Rock Bar & Grill, an award-winning steakhouse and first-to-market experiential dining offering, which is slated to open this summer.

New Retailers in the Region

Earlier this year, Woodland Mall officials stated it would be an exciting year for the property with several new retailers coming in and several current retailers, such as Apple, Altar’d State, LUSH, Williams-Sonoma, and Bath & Body Works being upgraded creating a new shopping experience or visitors.

First-to-portfolio retailer Von Maur, which will occupy 90,000 square feet in the former Sears space, is set to open in the fall. This location will be the high-end department store’s first in the region. Both Williams-Sonoma and Bath & Body Works will be moving the the Von Maur wing.

Von Maur also will be joined by a series of other new-to-portfolio and new-to-market retailers at the mall. REI will open in a 20,000-square-foot outparcel in the second quarter 2019 – bringing the in-demand outdoor clothing, gear and footwear brand to the region.

Complementing these high-quality and diverse retailers, Woodland Mall will also welcome Tricho Salon this fall, a salon offering a personalized experience with the most talented stylists in the region featuring the top hair styles, designs and products as well as makeup and waxing services. An innovator in the salon business since 2003, Tricho Salons has 12 locations across the U.S.

“With the addition of a fashion department store, the region’s only Apple store and The Cheesecake Factory, this property will take its place as a trophy mall and top-performer in our portfolio,” said PREIT CEO Joseph F. Coradino. “The high-impact redevelopment of Woodland Mall is delivering a diverse and robust tenant mix that aligns with our portfolio quality improvement efforts.”

Strengthening this dominant asset in its market, as the second largest redevelopment underway in PREIT’s portfolio, Woodland Mall is expected to deliver nearly 20 percent net operating income growth in 2020 with increasing foot traffic as evidenced by strong growth during the 2018 holiday season.