Cielo Vista Mall Director: Cheesecake Factory ‘Interested’

El Pasoans have longed for a hometown Cheesecake Factory location for years.

With its sizeable portions and a vast menu that includes more than 70 cheesecakes and desserts you’d think our city would be a natural fit for the national chain.

Albuquerque has one. Tucson has one. Heck, they opened one in Lubbock in 2018 and they’re less than half our size. So, what gives? I reached out to the Cheesecake Factory’s corporate office for answers.

What I got was the same recycled statement from Alethea Rowe, senior director of public relations and brand management for the Cheesecake Factory, that I received in 2015 when there were rumors the company was looking at building a location in northwest El Paso.

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.

What exactly an “A-1” site and the “criteria for success” wasn’t divulged. But I’ve noticed the majority of Cheesecake Factory locations are either in a mall or in a freestanding building in the mall parking lot, and you can't find a more A-1 site in this town than Cielo Vista Mall. Could Cielo Vista be a future site?

I contacted Cindy A. Foght, Director of Marketing & Business Development Cielo Vista Mall. This is her response:

All I can tell you is that they are interested but nothing confirmed

Although it sounds promising, El Paso’s first Cheesecake Factory will have to remain just a hope and a dream -- at least for now.