Who needs a Cheesecake Factory? This Wichita restaurant already has their cheesecake | Opinion
Ever since I got here 27 years ago, everybody’s been griping that we don’t have a Cheesecake Factory.
And now, the collective salivary glands of Wichita are salivating over the news that a building permit application has been filed for a Cheesecake Factory restaurant at Bradley Fair, on Rock Road south of 21st Street.
But here’s the thing: We already have Cheesecake Factory cheesecake in Wichita.
I just ate a slice at lunch.
At a Wichita restaurant.
At 21st and Amidon.
The cheesecake was red velvet.
It was scrumptious — just like I remember from the last time I ate at a Cheesecake Factory, on Denver’s tony 16th Street Mall.
And it cost $4.29 — $4.62 with tax — less than half what an actual Cheesecake Factory charges for a slice of the same thing (granted, the portion size is a bit smaller).
By now, you may be asking, “What’s the name of this fine dining establishment that brought us Cheesecake Factory cheesecake before Cheesecake Factory?”
It’s a seafood restaurant with four locations in Wichita, including one on Rock Road just south of Towne East Square mall — a mere three miles south of where the new Cheesecake Factory is planned.
You’ve probably driven it by hundreds of times without knowing that the Holy Grail of cheesecakes awaited inside.
The restaurant is Long John Silver’s.
No, I’m not kidding.
It may come in a plastic box with a plastic fork, but it comes with a bona fide certificate of authenticity stating “Cheesecake Factory Cake.” It’s even time-stamped so you know when it was made.
The slice I had, about 12:45 p.m. Friday, was finished at 10:13 that same morning. You don’t get that kind of full disclosure at an actual Cheesecake Factory.
When I ordered, I asked how long they’ve had it on the menu. The employee who waited on me didn’t know, saying it was already there when she got the job.
So when I got back to the office, I looked it up and found a press release. It turned out that Long John Silver’s and Cheesecake Factory have been partnered up on this since April of 2023.
I have to admit I only recently became aware. Long John Silver’s long since closed the two locations near my humble abode in the southwest corner of Wichita — RIP LJS at Ridge Road and Central, and West Street and Maple.
But a few weeks ago, my wife Kathy and went to a City Council District 6 campaign forum hosted by the Wichita Journalism Collaborative in north Wichita.
As we looked around for a place to eat afterward, I spotted the Long John Silver’s sign at 21st and Amidon shining like a lighthouse in the darkness. I had a sudden craving for fried fish with fried potatoes and fried lumps of dough (they call them “hush puppies” and I never ask why).
So I pretty much dragged Kathy inside, and it was then that I noticed the signs at the counter for Cheesecake Factory cheesecake.
This, as we say in the newspaper biz, is “news you can use.”
While the rest of the city is waiting for someone to build the actual Cheesecake Factory (and who knows how long that will take), you can get the jump on the whole thing.
The next time you’re looking for a delicious dessert to cap off a night at the opera or maybe an art exhibit opening, pop on by the nearest Long John Silver’s and order up a couple slices of authentic Cheesecake Factory cheesecake.
Tipping is not required. But don’t forget to ring the “Captain’s Bell” by the door on your way out to thank the staff.
It will be a night out that your date will not soon forget, and will talk about for years to come.
Trust me.
