Cheesecake Factory Embarks on Drive Out Hunger Tour

Restaurant Works With Feeding America in Cross-Country Food Drive

Posted by Karen Egolf on 09.01.09 @ 12:15 PM

In conjunction with Hunger Action Month, the Cheesecake Factory is launching the Drive Out Hunger Tour to collect 100,000 cans of soup for local food banks.

Working with Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief charity, the tour will visit a different Cheesecake Factory restaurant every day in September, starting with Los Angeles and finishing in Washington on Sept. 30. In each city, the first 500 attendees to donate two cans of soup will receive a free slice of the new Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake.

On the tour's final day, the chain will hold the You Dine, We Donate event. Customers who bring two cans of soup to any of the Cheesecake Factory's 146 restaurants will have 10% of their check donated to a local food bank.

In addition, the Cheesecake Factory will donate 25 cents for each slice of Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake sold to Feeding America.

"As one of America's favorite restaurants, we believe it is important to support the communities that have supported us for so many years," said David Overton, founder of the Cheesecake Factory, in announcing the event. "We are honored to continue our partnership with Feeding America and encourage our guests to join us in our drive to collect 100,000 cans of soup for our local food banks this September." In the past year, the company has donated more than $400,000 to Feeding America.

The tour schedule is posted online, with exclusive updates available on Facebook and Twitter.

2 Comments

By Rodney33 | FRISCO, TX September 2, 2009 03:10:56 am:

A few years ago, Cheesecake factory didn't need
1) a loyalty program,
2) a small portions menu,
3) a catering business or
4) Incentives tied to charities.

Their $12M+ average store sales dwarfed the entire industry and made them a stand alone institution.

Times are tougher now and they have had to adjust to the market. All four "didn't needs" now exist and they have stemmed negative trends keeping business pretty much flat over last year, thus far, based on recent earnings calls.

What's ironic with the over-sized stores is that as Cheesecake Factory and their Grande Lux Cafe's have not delved more deeply into more social media and mobile platforms.

The speak of new digital initiatives to drive revenues on-line. The could realize good revenues from a direct ship business, to markets that don't have Cheesecake Factory, understood.

Think about it, they have, in most markets, huge locations. By taping into key social groups, they could do a better job of filling seats by catering to specific social groups. And by using mobile tools like Deal Chime, they could shoot geo and blue tooth based, time sensitive, down to the hour, messages in the retail districts and shopping centers they typically anchor.

Both social media and mobile seem like low hanging indulgences that customers couldn't refuse. But, hey, they still have a good product, and they're doing better than most. Their customer service scores are up, they're paying down debt in accelerated fashion and they've got got growth on the horizon.

Rodney Mason, CMO
Moosylvania
The Great State Of Design
www.moosylvania.com
www.twitter.com/rodmoose
www.twitter.com/moosylvania

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By V | McLean, VA September 2, 2009 11:07:54 am:

Why need a specific event to Drive Out Hunger? Just offer the local food banks a few entrees off the existing CF menu and you have enough food and calories to feed an entire town for a week!

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