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Holy Cheesecake! Look who has joined the \'small plates, small prices\' trend | Taste: Dayton food and restaurants
 

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Holy Cheesecake! Look who has joined the ‘small plates, small prices’ trend

By Mark Fisher | Friday, April 24, 2009, 10:41 AM

The one restaurant that is among the best-known in these parts for serving up gargantuan servings has joined the downsizing trend.

That’s right: The Cheesecake Factory is poised to roll out a “small plates, small prices” menu, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

Here’s an excerpt from the NRN story:

The new Small Plates & Snacks menu is designed as a “pre-appetizer” or to be combined with other dishes to make a meal, The Cheesecake Factory Inc. said Thursday. The offerings follow a growing restaurant industry trend toward smaller and less expensive menu options, as operators attempt to drive traffic at a time when customers are looking for greater value and more healthful options.
Cheesecake Factory’s new menu includes 16 dishes priced from $3.95 to $6.50 each, including beets with goat cheese, hand-battered onion rings, shrimp scampi crostini, ahi tartare, stuffed mushrooms or pizzettes.
“We have actually been developing our Small Plates & Snacks menu for quite some time; however, we thought now was the perfect time to introduce it to help make The Cheesecake Factory even more accessible to Americans looking for reasons to get out and celebrate,” said Mark Mears, the company’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “But don’t let the name fool you, at The Cheesecake Factory we don’t do anything small.”

An employee of the Cheesecake Factory at The Greene in Beavercreek said the Small Plates & Snacks menu is indeed available at his restaurant, and in fact, has been for a couple of months. So apparently Mr. Mears is right — they have been developing the concept for “quite some time” and decided to put the marketing push on it now.

Still, it’s a bit of a departure for the chain, given its reputation for servings that virtually guarantee take-home bags and ample leftovers.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Food trends & eating habits, Restaurant industry news

Comments

By Eve

April 24, 2009 3:52 PM | Link to this

Beets with goat cheese? Is Dwight Schrute moonlighting as a Cheesecake Factory consultant?

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