Cheesecake Factory Revenue Hits $1.03 Billion Amid Political Spat

The Cheesecake Factory, a chain founded by David Overton in 1978, generates $1.03 billion in annual revenue across 218 U.S. locations. That figure entered the political conversation this week after former President Obama compared White House renovations to a restaurant known for gilded decor.

Obama made the remark Saturday at an Ohio rally, saying the renovations looked "like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. Just gold everywhere." He also said the administration had been "supergluing gold medallions to the mantel in the Oval Office" and building a ballroom bigger than the White House. Obama added that Trump's supporters were not "serious people" and described "two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption."

President Trump defended the work. "I've taken care of the White House, I've fixed it with the finest artisans in the world," he told reporters, adding the building is "now in the best shape it's been since 1792." He also called Obama "not a smart guy." The official White House X account posted an image of the Cheesecake Factory menu with the caption: "The only thing bigger than the menu is the list of President Trump's accomplishments."

Vice President Vance wrote on X that Obama was "super elitist." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ate lunch at a Cheesecake Factory near the White House on Monday, ordering a French Dip Cheeseburger. He told journalists afterward: "I had a great meal, always have a great meal, and I would just tell the Martha's Vineyard set to give it a try." Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, also said of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago: "This is the man who built the museum [that] looks like Darth Vader's tomb."

Obama returned to the subject at a Georgia rally Wednesday, saying the White House had mounted "a whole of government response to that joke. Not to inflation, but to that joke." He noted that the Treasury Secretary was told to hold a press conference in front of the restaurant. Obama, who said he has eaten at the chain for years, added: "I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the Cheesecake Factory?"

Restaurants surfaced again later in the week at a Texas rally, where Trump discussed the $5,000 payment he has promised every adult citizen if Republicans keep control of Congress. He suggested supporters could spend it at Mar-a-Lago, then said: "The problem is that for $5,000, the most you'll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert." He followed with: "I'm not even sure you could buy that."