Arizona-based restaurant opens in Cherry Creek

Gone are the days of the restaurant menu that’s pages long, with something for everyone and three dozen flavors of cheesecake at the end.

This week, Flower Child, a popular Arizonabased chain now owned by Cheesecake Factory, opened by the Cherry Creek mall. It signals a new generation of national restaurant brands, where the food is healthy and the feeling is that of a local spot.

In fact, Flower Child looks nothing like its parent company at all.

Driving by, you might confuse it with another Whole Foods — the logo is eerily similar. But once inside the green and white, 3,500-square-foot space, you’ll spot all the trappings of a trendy modern eatery.

“Healthy food for a happy world” is the restaurant’s tagline. Cheesecake, who?

Menu items start with avocado hummus ($7) and Brussels sprouts and squash salad ($8.50), and continue with ancient grain bowls ($9.95) and various proteins like chicken, salmon and tofu ($11.95-$15.50) served with veggie sides.

The drinks list is rather long and includes kombucha, seasonal sangria, local beer and wine on tap.

Back in July, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated bought Fox Restaurants for $308 million. Now that group’s portfolio includes 25 locations of Flower Child, 23 North Italia restaurants and eight more Fox brands.

By 2021, Fox Restaurants and Cheesecake Factory are also slated to open Blanco Tacos + Tequila and Culinary Dropout at Denver’s 9th and Colorado development.