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Someone told me that the chain would never be able to open a restaurant in the ABQ area, because of a settlement reached with Dee's here over use of the name "Cheesecake Factory ", which Dee's was using for years before the chain existed.
While I'm no fan of chain restaurants and do not care if Cheesecake Factory ever opens here, I thought that was interesting and wondered if anyone else had heard that?
Yum! I love the Cheesecake Factory! (Love their huge appetizer, salads, dinner menu- so much more than cheesecake!) Gosh, hope it would open in ABQ.. just not sure the local economy could sustain an ABQ existence.
Would love to hear more about this "Dee's" thing... (Ok new to ABQ, so not familiar with Dee's... but based on their website, it looks like they are NOT open for Dinner, right?)....
PS.. Just noticed that Cheesecake Factory is conducting a 'Facebook Sweepstakes Giveaway' thru 8.30.09-- but it specifically says.. "VOID IN NM" -- interesting...
Skysz...
Last edited by Skyszlimit; 07-30-2009 at 08:23 AM..
Reason: Added the info about the Cheesecake Factory "Facebook" sweepstakes!
Yum! I love the Cheesecake Factory! (Love their huge appetizer, salads, dinner menu- so much more than cheesecake!) Gosh, hope it would open in ABQ.. just not sure the local economy could sustain an ABQ existence.
Would love to hear more about this "Dee's" thing... (Ok new to ABQ, so not familiar with Dee's... but based on their website, it looks like they are NOT open for Dinner, right?)....
PS.. Just noticed that Cheesecake Factory is conducting a 'Facebook Sweepstakes Giveaway' thru 8.30.09-- but it specifically says.. "VOID IN NM" -- interesting...
Skysz...
I have only eaten at 2 and loved both, of course I got the Cobb salad both times. Yum, yum and huge!!!
Will they ever open in ABQ who knows, it is like, will In-N-Out come to ABQ? Different reasons, but a similar question. Only time will tell.
Someone told me that the chain would never be able to open a restaurant in the ABQ area, because of a settlement reached with Dee's here over use of the name "Cheesecake Factory ", which Dee's was using for years before the chain existed.
While I'm no fan of chain restaurants and do not care if Cheesecake Factory ever opens here, I thought that was interesting and wondered if anyone else had heard that?
You are correct, as long as Dee's is in business (which I don't understand how) The Cheesecake Factory will not open here, nor can they ship to NM. However, there are two ways for you to get your hands on their cheesecake, the first is, Barne's & Noble carries them in their cafe and they are wonderful! The second is Costco, but these are frozen and not quite as good.
This is true! Which is a complete disapointment....Cheesecake Factory is such a great place, with an extensive munu. However we're stuck with dee's which doesn't compare at all!!
...as long as Dee's is in business (which I don't understand how) The Cheesecake Factory will not open here, nor can they ship to NM.
They stay in business because "Dee's Cheesecake Factory" is only a small portion of their main operation, Dee's Foodservice. The vast majority of their income is derived by supplying commercial customers in NM and Texas with various items including meats, desserts, and even janitorial supplies.
Its too bad they couldn't work something out to allow THE Cheescake Factory a presence in NM. Gotta love their french toast.
I'm not in ABQ currently like most of the posters in this thread are, so my opinion carries very little weight comparatively (and I know the original poster was more just questioning *why* the Cheesecake Factory wasn't in ABQ - esp. in relation to Dee's).
However, now that we have the Dee's v. CF thing cleared up, and everyone is chiming in, I think ABQ is better off without the chain.
Don't get me wrong. As a dad of two kids and a pretty average dude in terms of life, occupation, etc., I have been known quite frequently to patronize a chain restaurant every now and then. Heck, this palate doesn't discriminate when it comes to the 2 for $20 deal at friggin' Applebee's.
Having said that:
a. The Cheesecake Factory (which I have dined in just fine a few times) is fairly overrated - it is good, don't get me wrong, but is it any better than say a Mimi's (popular upscale chain found in ABQ) or the like? Of course not. Like the also-overrated In-N-Out Burger - because like the Cheesecake Factory it gained its popularity from Cali and is shiek and trendy, people tend to crave it - but like I-N-O (where Blake's and Griff's in Albuquerque are handily better), there are many better alternatives to the Cheesecake, even a chain like Mimi's. Good. But OVERRATED.
b. One thing that always struck me from day #1 of driving around Albuquerque was the absolutely amazing quantity of restaurants one finds in the Duke City for a modestly-populated town. This is a town of 500K, yet, the restaurants are more like a town of 1.5-mil. And good Lord, ABQ dining is a thing of beauty. Of course the local New Mexican and Mexican eateries are incredible, however, ABQ has a shockingly high amount of tremendous local eateries in the genres of various Asian cuisines (Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Vietnamese), Italian, Greek / Medit., fast food / burgers, steak houses / BBQ, etc.
Anything that can help keep as many of those restaurants open, thriving, and doing good business is good enough for me. Again...I dined in chains admittedly in ABQ (such as Mimi's, the Fox N' Hound, etc.) and am not as "anti"-chain as many, however, if any particular chain does NOT open in ABQ for any particular reason, I have no problem with it. The odds are incredibly strong that you'll get a much better comparable meal in ABQ than the chain one in ABQ misses - at a better price, without as much pretention, etc.
Again, I am not anti-chain necessarily, however, while some are fearful of the New World Order and One-World Government, etc., my feared conspiracy theory is someday as the world keeps shrinking, losing geographical and local identifiers in terms of our palates, cuisine-types, specialities, etc. I never want a Frontier or a Burrito Lady or a Range Cafe or a Weck's or a Mariscos Altamar or a Barelas Coffee House to close - or lose that genre of eating. Damnit all, when I go to ABQ, I want to eat unique foods and different styles of even regional foods non-specific to ABQ than I would in a say, Denver or Pittsburgh or NYC or Toronto.
I'm not going to go so far as to say ABQ is "better off" without the Cheesecake Factory. However, I will wholeheartedly say that ABQ is NO WORSE OFF without the CF.
As for Dee's, never had a lick of their food, so I can't comment. However, I was always confused by their CF tag, which sounds like from this thread is quite aged. Good info in this thread!
I'm not in ABQ currently like most of the posters in this thread are, so my opinion carries very little weight comparatively (and I know the original poster was more just questioning *why* the Cheesecake Factory wasn't in ABQ - esp. in relation to Dee's).
However, now that we have the Dee's v. CF thing cleared up, and everyone is chiming in, I think ABQ is better off without the chain.
Don't get me wrong. As a dad of two kids and a pretty average dude in terms of life, occupation, etc., I have been known quite frequently to patronize a chain restaurant every now and then. Heck, this palate doesn't discriminate when it comes to the 2 for $20 deal at friggin' Applebee's.
Having said that:
a. The Cheesecake Factory (which I have dined in just fine a few times) is fairly overrated - it is good, don't get me wrong, but is it any better than say a Mimi's (popular upscale chain found in ABQ) or the like? Of course not. Like the also-overrated In-N-Out Burger - because like the Cheesecake Factory it gained its popularity from Cali and is shiek and trendy, people tend to crave it - but like I-N-O (where Blake's and Griff's in Albuquerque are handily better), there are many better alternatives to the Cheesecake, even a chain like Mimi's. Good. But OVERRATED.
b. One thing that always struck me from day #1 of driving around Albuquerque was the absolutely amazing quantity of restaurants one finds in the Duke City for a modestly-populated town. This is a town of 500K, yet, the restaurants are more like a town of 1.5-mil. And good Lord, ABQ dining is a thing of beauty. Of course the local New Mexican and Mexican eateries are incredible, however, ABQ has a shockingly high amount of tremendous local eateries in the genres of various Asian cuisines (Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Vietnamese), Italian, Greek / Medit., fast food / burgers, steak houses / BBQ, etc.
Anything that can help keep as many of those restaurants open, thriving, and doing good business is good enough for me. Again...I dined in chains admittedly in ABQ (such as Mimi's, the Fox N' Hound, etc.) and am not as "anti"-chain as many, however, if any particular chain does NOT open in ABQ for any particular reason, I have no problem with it. The odds are incredibly strong that you'll get a much better comparable meal in ABQ than the chain one in ABQ misses - at a better price, without as much pretention, etc.
Again, I am not anti-chain necessarily, however, while some are fearful of the New World Order and One-World Government, etc., my feared conspiracy theory is someday as the world keeps shrinking, losing geographical and local identifiers in terms of our palates, cuisine-types, specialities, etc. I never want a Frontier or a Burrito Lady or a Range Cafe or a Weck's or a Mariscos Altamar or a Barelas Coffee House to close - or lose that genre of eating. Damnit all, when I go to ABQ, I want to eat unique foods and different styles of even regional foods non-specific to ABQ than I would in a say, Denver or Pittsburgh or NYC or Toronto.
I'm not going to go so far as to say ABQ is "better off" without the Cheesecake Factory. However, I will wholeheartedly say that ABQ is NO WORSE OFF without the CF.
As for Dee's, never had a lick of their food, so I can't comment. However, I was always confused by their CF tag, which sounds like from this thread is quite aged. Good info in this thread!
I agree that The Cheesecake Factory is not the greatest restaurant around, however, Dee's is terrible for both food and cheesecake. I would like to be able to at least have the option to go to one or the other.
I did write to the Cheesecake Factory and they stated they have wanted to enter the ABQ market for years, and their studies show a high interest, but unless Dee's changes their position it just won't happen (that's what bothers me)!
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