Update 5/4/16: Cheesecake Factory plans to be open by the end of the year. The Signal newspaper reports today that the deal is done and Santa Clarita will get a Cheesecake Factory on Town Center Drive.
“Unequivocally, Cheesecake Factory has been the most requested tenant by the community since I can remember,” said Tom Miller, District Manager for Westfield told The Signal in an email. “We are diligently working with Cheesecake Factory to get them open this year and are excited that they have chosen to invest in Westfield Valencia and the Santa Clarita community.”
Other mall officials were quoted in the article saying that the restaurant plans to refinish the face of the building along Town Center, and add patio space as well.
eatSCV will be in-depth on this story as it continues throughout the year towards the grand opening.
Original Post:
Santa Claritans may be closer to having the delicious cheesecake that they’ve wanted for so long. eatSCV.com has exclusively learned that Calabasas based restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory is working on a deal to open a location on Town Center Drive in front of the Westfield Town Center Mall. According to multiple sources who wished to remain anonymous citing the ongoing nature of the negotiations, The Cheesecake Factory is looking to take over the space formerly occupied by Talbots in the main traffic circle just outside the mall’s main entrance, across from Sisley.
Alethea Rowe, a spokesperson for The Cheesecake Factory would neither confirm, nor deny the report saying only in an email “The Restaurant Development team is always on the look-out for A-1 sites to further grow our Cheesecake Factory brand presence, and all sites that fit our criteria for success will be seriously considered.” Representatives for Westfield Town Center Valencia were unavailable for comment.
Jason Crawford, economic development manager for the City of Santa Clarita recently told The Santa Clarita Valley Signal that the demand for The Cheesecake Factory is high in Santa Clarita. “We do surveys every year about stores and entertainment options residents would like to see in Santa Clarita,” Crawford said when speaking about the proposed Laemmle project in Old Town Newhall in July of 2015. “Laemmle is always at the top of the list, along with Nordstrom and Cheesecake Factory.” In fact, in a 2014 survey conducted by the City of Santa Clarita, 14% of city residents said the restaurant that they’d most like to see come to Santa Clarita is Cheesecake Factory. Aside from being the most sought after restaurant chain, it ranks highest among all individual commercial entities that residents want to see come to the valley.
The addition of Cheesecake Factory could significantly increase the reputation of the Town Center area as the hot dining spot in the Santa Clarita Valley. Town Center Drive has been undergoing a significant transformation recently. A new Urban Home location opened last year after a lengthy build out, replacing Abercrombie and Fitch. Longtime mall tenant TGI Fridays closed their doors, to be replaced by a Saddle Ranch Chop House this summer. Other moves involving restaurants near the mall include the closure of the Tilted Kilt to be followed in short order by its successor Varsity Draft House, and Red Robin is flying their perch on the other side of the mall to replace Elephant Bar on McBean at Creekside. Even Sisley has been rumored to be renovating and improving their space for a couple years, although those plans have not come to fruition yet.
In addition, a number of new restaurants have opened in the Town Center’s outdoor Patios including Bonefish Grill, Solita Tacos and California Fish Grill in the past year.
eatSCV’s Lady Ducayne contributed to this report.
