When people think of Cheesecake factory, sumptuous fettuccini, filling brown bread, and of course, cheesecake immediately comes to mind.
However, the popular food chain is opening a new restaurant where its world-famous desserts are not part of the expansive menu. While Oreo Dream Extreme cheesecake would be absent, the new restaurant will feature many dishes that will make its customers' mouths water just like any cheesecake would.
About The Restaurant
The new restaurant is named Social Monk Asian Kitchen and is described as a fast-casual Asian restaurant that gives off a modern and urban feel.
According to reports, the restaurant has been in development for about a year and a half and will open at the Promenade at Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles.
Cheesecake Factory is interested in creating the new concept and thought that Asian food would go well in a fast-casual setting, CEO David Overton said.
The Asian restaurant will feature local dishes from countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Singapore, India, and Indonesia. Although the menu has not been finalized yet, it will have Asian comfort food such as salads, rice bowls, noodles, and curries in lieu of its iconic cakes.
Other Asian Restaurants
This is not the first Asian restaurant of the Calabasas, California-based chain. It already operates the RockSugar Southeast Asian Kitchen, which opened in 2008 and has branches in two locations, namely, LA and Chicago.
Additionally, the restaurant will also serve creative flavors of frozen custard made in the restaurant, beer, and wine. RockSugar and Social Monk will also share the same culinary director, Mohan Ismail.
When asked about the restaurant's weird name, Overton said that they wanted it to be intriguing and at the same time be very approachable and playful.
Cheesecake Factory Sales
Usually located in shopping malls, which are decreasing in the past years, Cheesecake Factory's sales have been affected as it hit a slump in 2017 after 29 quarters of doing well.
Nonetheless, its declining sales are not enough to bring down the restaurant chain famous for the best desserts. The chain is known to be adored by the Kardashians, NBA players, and people all over the world.
With the wide array of things on its menu, turning it into a fast-casual restaurant might dilute its brand name. Furthermore, Overton said that currently, they do not have any plans to create a fast-casual Cheesecake Factory.
With the rise of hundreds of fast-casual Asian restaurants on the market including Pei Wei which has 200 locations in the country, Social Monk, also intended to be a chain restaurant, is expected not to fall behind despite still not having additional locations on the horizon.
Overton claims that the company wants to focus on getting its first location opened and making sure that everything is operating smoothly before scouting for new locations.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
