Why Cheesecake Factory's Interior Design Feels So Unusual
TikTok interior designer Tommy Huerter says the zany decor at The Cheesecake Factory is "like a warm hug," but he also calls it "altogether unhinged." And indeed the over-the-top decor choices are much like The Cheesecake Factory's famously massive menu: positively dizzying. The interiors of its more than 200 U.S. locations incorporate a mashup of different eras and cultures that somehow come together to form a signature look.
Designer Rick McCormack is behind the interiors, though he worked closely with founder David Overton for inspiration and says the design was heavily inspired by San Francisco restaurants of the 1970s. McCormack came on board when The Cheesecake Factory opened its sixth location and eventually became the company's in-house designer.
Key components include Egyptian temple-like columns, high ceilings with recessed portions featuring Italian-style frescoes, and Victorian-style beadboard alongside Art Deco elements, French bistro chairs and limestone floors, large dark wooden booths, orange sconce lighting, cornices, arched doors, and scrolling motifs. One of the interesting facts you should know about The Cheesecake Factory is that those ubiquitous Egyptian columns were inspired by a bathhouse Overton saw in London.
The design has been called a postmodern design hellscape
Overton wanted to give the average American access to a luxury dining experience while still keeping it casual enough for every day, but Redditors have compared its sconce lighting to the eye of Sauron from "Lord of the Rings" and its look to a Daedric temple from the videogame The Elder Scrolls. Max Krieger's 2017 viral Twitter rant about The Cheesecake Factory's design describes the look as "postmodern design hellscape," but it might be its quirky style that is keeping place afloat in a sea of cookie-cutter chains.
All Cheesecake Factory locations feature a chaotic, avant-garde, unconventional blend of aesthetics, but the layout, color palettes, and architectural decor vary from location to location. "It's everything to all people. Decor. Atmosphere. Food," said one Redditor on r/TooAfraidToAsk. "Cheesecake Factory is so wonderfully over the top," said another on r/mildlyinteresting.
The secret ingredient to The Cheesecake Factory's success may just lie in that weirdly overstated elegance that sets it apart (though it doesn't hurt that over 250 of its menu items are made from scratch). Populating the suburbs of major metropolitan areas and small towns alike, it's at once casual and fancy, giving diners an experience that feels like a special occasion and not another meal at a food court. The Cheesecake Factory has been around for almost 50 years, and its distinctive atmosphere is what makes the dining experience unique.