Cheesecake Factory in Center City?
CCRA hears plans for 15th and Walnut.
Cheesecake Factory in Center City?
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Center City could be a step closer to getting a Cheesecake Factory.
That decision is now in the hands of the Center City Residents' Association's zoning committee, which Tuesday night heard a redevelopment plan for the southeast corner of 15th and Walnut Streets.
The plan calls for the demolition of the strip of retail businesses along the east side of 15th Street from Walnut Street to Chancellor Street - previously a bank, hair salon, coffee shop, and restaurant - as well as two adjacent properties on Walnut Street. A new building, to have a green roof, would house the popular restaurant as well as retail.
Cheesecake's n
ame came up in testimony, the first time its plans have been aired in public. It's been rumored for nearly a year.
The zoning committee's decision, due shortly, carries great impact with the city's Zoning Hearing Board, which would have to approve the plan before the wrecking ball arrives.
Comments (85)
C'mon Philly, you can do better than this !— fat tony- This hits the nail squarely on the head!
GOOD GRIEF!
If this dump draws mid- to high-end customers, as asserted below, that says it all for high end people! There so-called cheesecake is among the POORER I have ever had to throw away, since it isn't the least bit edible.— BEMiller - Philly does do better than this. There are many excellent independent restaurants in the surrounding area.
But the rubes needs somewhere to eat too. This location is convenient to the conventioni center, hotels, and highrises.— Pelti - It won't be frequented by as many residents as visitors, but this is good for retail on Walnut! The Cheesecake factory typically has mid to higher-end customers and builds near mid-high end retail corridors. They stayed out of Philly due to demographics until now. This is a positive for the city and solidifies that our demo is getting better. The tourists will love it as well, and the new structure it will be housed in looks beautiful.— bjb2416
- The fact that the Cheesecake Factory gets "higher-end" customers tells you just how bad the food still is in Middle America. — Thad Lawrence
- the cheesecake factory is too high end for most philadelphians. the wendy's at 15th and chestnut is always packed. ditto ruby tuesdays, hard rock cafe, etc. the drones in this city can't was for the Factory to open. but at least you can wear a hat inside the restaurant
— hannibal barca - Frankly, the FEWER chains of ANY sort, the BETTER.
The sole thing that can be said for a chain restaurant is that they are most always consistent, from coast to coast.
On the other hand, consistency is not necessarily a good thing.
BTW, have not noticed any great number of people wearing hats these days! Caps, yes, but not hats!— BEMiller - Who cares? I live over in NJ and work in Center City.There is a Cheesecake location in Cherry Hill. I guess it has been open 5 years? I have yet to go there. I think it is overpriced, unhealthy fare. The cheesecake is terrible, especially that frosting. it can make you want to throw up. You want good cheesecake, real cheesecake, order one from Juniors in Brooklyn. I can think of so many other restaurants that offer better values then Cheesecake Factory. Sorry, but just another cookie cutter place to eat and spend more money then necessary.— RandiRN
- i can't take anyone seriously who chooses to live in south jersey. you want to talk cookie cutter, look at all the strip malls over there. you want to see a nice neighborhood, check out gladwyne — hannibal barca
- Don't knock those strip malls. Many of them include an independent BYO restaurant run by an aspiring chef, or an established chef tired of the Center City cost and/or rat race. Sure, they're dominated by the cookie cutter chains, but you don't need to visit them. And for the record, those stores that populate the strip malls are all in the city too. — tfnj42
- Frankly, Randi, the reason to care is to keep it OUT! And, as I stated above the "cheesecake" is awful.
BTW, barca, it's utterly impossible to take you seriously, since you seem to have NEVER had anything good to say about anything. But, then, that's the lack of a life in the big city!
— BEMiller - I never understood the appeal of Cheesecake Factory. I went one time in Denver about 15 years ago and never really cared to go back. I don't understand why so many people are willing to wait hours for a meal at a chain restaurant.— imfio
- When you go to parts of the country (e.g. Florida) where chain restaurants are all there is, you'd understand the appeal. It's one of the better chains. Which of course isn't saying much when you live near good restaurants. — mkk9772
- Hey let's go get some high priced fast food! Those chain restaurants generally serve up food that's prepackaged, so they can maintain consistency across restaurants - so they're basically giving you TV dinners. Philly is way better than that, and has a great deal of fantastic local restaurants run by actual chefs who make their food out of actual food.— foghelmut
- If the Cheesecake Factory has "higher-end customers," then I'd hate to see the low end of that scale.— azzuri
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About this blog
Michael Klein, the editor/producer of philly.com/Food, writes about the local restaurant scene in his Inquirer column "Table Talk." Have a question? Email it! See his Inquirer work here.
Reach Michael at mklein@philly.com.
Michael Klein
Philly.com
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