Sunday, July 08, 2007
Cheesecake sales a treat for Anthony's
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
Recent stories
Berry White and Godiva Double slices of cheesecake are a few of the new and most expensive desserts on Famous Anthony's menu.
The Roanoke Valley-based restaurant chain last month began to sell slices of the Cheesecake Factory's signature cheesecakes for $4.50 each. The cakes are sold under the Dream Factory name, which is a product of the California-based Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant chain that serves lunch and dinner and at least 30 varieties of cheesecake.
Other flavors of this cheesecake sold at Famous Anthony's are Original and vanilla. And the $4.50 price is a deal, compared with $6.50 to $7 that a Cheesecake Factory restaurant charges per slice.
Coincidentally, the Cheesecake Factory ranks third in voting on a Web site created in February by Roanoke's economic development office, called myretailroanoke.com. By logging on and signing up, people can place votes for the retailer that they'd like to see come to Roanoke.
City officials said they hope these votes will help to entice a retailer to find a Roanoke location attractive. But so far, the city has not begun contacting sought-after retailers. A spokesman for the Cheesecake Factory said in February that the company is not considering the Roanoke Valley for a new location for the restaurant.
Famous Anthony's founder and chief executive officer, Tony Triplette, said the city's retail Web site did not affect his decision to begin serving Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes.
It did, however, show him a taste of what some people in the Roanoke Valley might desire. Famous Anthony's is a moderately priced chain serving a simple menu that includes sandwiches, salads and hamburgers. But Triplette wanted to add what he calls a quality dessert.
He said these cheesecakes are "one of the best products that I've ever tried."
Famous Anthony's already serves a list of other desserts that includes caramel apple pie and Reese's peanut butter pie. The price for most of them is $3.69.
In April and May, Famous Anthony's tested the Cheesecake Factory cheesecake flavors in some of its restaurants.
"It just tremendously increased our dessert sales," Triplette said.
In June, Famous Anthony's rolled out the four flavors at all of its restaurants. The cheesecakes also are sold in whole pie sizes. Famous Anthony's has nine restaurants in the Roanoke Valley and one in Lynchburg.
Some other retailers in the Roanoke Valley sell slices of Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes. They include the Barnes & Noble Cafe beside Tanglewood Mall and Tavern on the Market, a downtown Roanoke restaurant.
Ann Taylor Loft
More retailers are capitalizing on the business of moms-to-be.
Ann Taylor Loft, a women's apparel retailer, recently introduced a maternity line of clothing. It's only sold at select stores, and Roanoke's Valley View Mall location is not one of them.
A spokeswoman for Ann Taylor did not return a call for comment about whether the line will some day be sold in Roanoke. The new maternity clothing is sold at 20 Ann Taylor Loft stores nationwide and online.
Old Navy is another retailer that has added maternity apparel to its selection in the past few years.
Present Thyme
Present Thyme, an upscale furniture and home decor retailer at Towers Shopping Center, has taken over a space at the upper level of Towers temporarily. It's having a sale to get rid of some floor sample products. The sale likely will last through the end of this month, said store manager Donna Hodges.
Present Thyme's permanent location still is at the 23rd Shoppes area of Towers in Roanoke.
