Mock Service Night at the Walnut Creek CA Cheesecake Factory

Holly & Greg Beck (Balloonman) accompanied us to the new Walnut Creek Cheesecake Factory last night to attend the pre-opening mock service. Last night and tonight is the final training run for the 120+ employees before the doors open for real on Thursday.

There is just no doubt that the Cheesecake Factory is going to do a booming business at this location in Walnut Creek. There is outdoor seating with fireplaces and overhead heating which will be extremely popular.

With the Cinemark theaters just across the street, the Cheesecake Factory will become the obvious place to stop for dinner or lunch before or after a movie. We are hoping that the foot traffic created by the Cheesecake Factory will help nearby business like Palomas survive & thrive. It will also be nice to see more adult activity in this area which has become the defacto gathering place of choice for teens (teen smoking continues to amaze me).

Coming in the front door of the Cheesecake Factory, we found Tania on the phone and the greeting staff spinning like whirling dervishes as they hustled to seat the rush of guests eager to sample the delights – not the least of which is the decor.The room was filled with oohs and ahs in response to the deco.

The cheesecake case was filled with more calories than the East Bay chapters of Weight Watchers could burn in a year. Thank goodness the Cheesecake Factory has those lowcal offerings for those struggling with the memories of leaner and meaner times.

I had the opportunity to meet Max Escuder, the general manager, who invited us to the evening event. I was surprised that he was so young – and slim! Surely he samples the product??

I had our server Joshua jump in the booth with Jane, Holly and Greg for a quick pic.

For an appetizer, we tried the fresh-made guacamole (mild). I suggest adding a little more zing to it. The Cheesecake Factory will make it as spicy as you want.

Holly had the wasabi crusted ahi tuna; Greg the chicken madera; Jane the petite sirloin andI sampled the fish and chips. Each of us had a glass of wine and we split two pieces of cheesecake (key lime & turtle) with coffee.

The bill would have been about $150, but Max Escuder was picking up the bill for the entire crowd – thank you MAX!

The major suggestion I would make is – better coffee. The three of that had coffee agreed that it lacked flavor and body – not the way to end a good meal. Considering all the pluses, if I was rating the Cheesecake Factory on a five-star scale, I'd give them 3 and a half to four stars. 

The Cheesecake Factory in Walnut Creek will be seeing more of my green and I'm sure they will probably get some of yours, too.