Consistent Cheesecake Factory gets it just right

Say what you will about chain restaurants — I’m all about eating local, too — but let’s give them this: The folks behind the successful ones put a lot of effort into getting it right.

The Cheesecake Factory opens today at 2760 N. Germantown Parkway, in the Wolfchase Galleria mall, between Macy’s and JCPenney. I attended a mock dinner last week, where invited diners eat free so the staff can practice. The company had cooks and servers here from all around the country, and a huge number of men and women with clipboards, watching servers and taking notes, discussing lighting and noise levels, seating, traffic flow — everything that the everyday diner takes for granted.

Between each course — this is from observation — there was a brief discussion between the new, local servers and their trainers on how they did, or perhaps on what to do better when they returned to the table. It was impressive. I was especially interested in the two men who were close to us as they discussed lighting, because I’d just been complaining about insufficient light for photos and reading. It wasn’t just dim, but a little gloomy — and will be fixed by the time you read this, I imagine, because after one man spent perhaps 15 minutes in the same spot, he called another over and they quickly assessed what needed to be done. There was a clipboard, and clipboards mean action.

The food was exactly what we expected. Of course, the cheesecake was good, but so were the entrees. I don’t generally eat at chains for various reasons, but I am always interested to talk to people who do. They tell me they go because they know what they’ll get — they like the consistency. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I can tell you that from what I saw, they’ve put a lot of effort into being sure this restaurant will be exactly like the one you’d find in Nashville. Or San Diego.

Hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; and Sunday 10 a.m.-11 p.m. The menu is huge, with more than 250 items, and the restaurant is also quite large, with plenty of seating in the main dining room plus an outside patio and patio seating inside the mall.

COMING UP

Stop by Boscos at 2120 Madison on Thursday to cheer on some very dedicated cyclists who will ride 150 miles on stationary bikes to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. That’s a looong Spinning class, and I hope they have some good music. The inaugural “Patio 150” starts at 5 p.m. and continues until