Cheesecake Factory planning to open first Lehigh Valley location

A national restaurant chain is preparing to make its Lehigh Valley debut.

The Cheesecake Factory has placed job ads for restaurant and kitchen manager positions for a location at Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township.

The full-service restaurant, which was founded as a bakery in Los Angeles more than 50 years ago, is known, of course, for its cheesecake. It also offers more than 250 items on its menu. The company says on its website that its food is “fresh and from scratch in each restaurant.”

Items on the menu range from appetizers such as spring rolls and asparagus fries, to soups, salads, flat-bread pizzas and sandwiches. Entrees include pasta, seafood and steaks. The dessert menu includes almost three-dozen varieties of cheesecake.

The potential arrival of The Cheesecake Factory is a dream come true for many local consumers, who have said in surveys that the restaurant was among the most wanted chains to come to the Valley.

The Cheesecake Factory has more than 200 locations in the U.S. and eight foreign countries. The closest locations to the Lehigh Valley are King of Prussia and Willow Grove in Montgomery County and Bridgewater, New Jersey.