Is The Cheesecake Factory's Iconic Brown Bread Unlimited?
The most obvious reason to dine at The Cheesecake Factory is to indulge in a slice of cheesecake, but the restaurant chain is arguably just as famous for its brown bread. Before you even get the chance to browse the extremely long menu, a server will bring over a basket of bread rolls for you to chow down on.
The Cheesecake Factory's brown bread has been a staple at the restaurant since it first opened in 1978, and it's so beloved by customers that in 2018, it was brought to grocery stores so that people could enjoy it at home. The rolls retail for about $3, but you'll get a much better deal if you enjoy them in one of the actual restaurants. That's because the brown bread is both free and unlimited when you dine in.
If you've eaten at The Cheesecake Factory before, you'll also notice that you might not even have to ask for more bread. Instead, the basket is refilled like clockwork throughout your meal.
Why The Cheesecake Factory's brown bread is unlimited
It isn't unheard of for chain restaurants to offer customers unlimited bread — Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse being some of the most famous — but there are a few reasons why this is a fairly common practice. The one that most people are familiar with is that it gives you something to curb your appetite while you wait for your food to come. This is especially relevant for The Cheesecake Factory because, despite its extensive menu, the entrees are actually made fresh and not microwaved, contrary to popular belief.
What some people might not realize is that free bread at restaurants is also designed to get you to order more food. When your blood sugar increases, so does your appetite. Let's not forget that The Cheesecake Factory replenishes the bread basket throughout your whole meal, and that means if you continue to eat it, you'll be more eager to order cheesecakes for dessert.
The brown bread isn't fresh when you get it
Given that the brown bread is unlimited, you'd think that bakers would be busy making new batches throughout the day, but the truth is that The Cheesecake Factory's bread isn't made at the restaurant. Instead, it's produced by Bimbo Bakeries, the corporation behind commercial baked goods like Sara Lee sandwich bread, Thomas' English muffins, and Entenmann's donuts.
The store-bought bread and the kind served at the restaurant are now the same, The Cheesecake Factory confirmed to Thrillist in 2018, but that wasn't the case in the restaurant's early days. The Cheesecake Factory started out as a family bakery in 1978, and back then, the now-iconic brown bread was baked from a recipe for Squaw bread that was discovered by founder Evelyn Overton's son David. As the restaurant grew, The Cheesecake Factory eventually had to outsource bread production to a commercial manufacturer. The bread may not be baked fresh anymore, but at least it's still unlimited.