The Cheesecake Factory, Yum Brands, and Raising Cane’s
All eyes are on The Cheesecake Factory for multiple reasons. Not only did the casual dining brand have a stellar quarter, but it’s also become the unexpected center of a political firestorm. It all began last weekend, when former President Obama said at a rally in Ohio that Trump’s “got the White House looking like Sadam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” The comment went viral online, and prompted multiple responses from the White House, including AI-generated images of Trump in front of a Cheesecake Factory. Obama responded at a rally a few days later saying “you’d think the administration would spend more time worrying about” the fact that many Americans can’t afford to go out to eat anymore. The Cheesecake Factory chose to sit this one out, and did not even post anything on its social media accounts for a week.
In 2025, Yum Brands launched an enterprise-wide development program called Breakthrough aimed at bolstering the company’s culture and equipping employees with a common language to work more efficiently. Since its launch, Breakthrough has reached over 4,000 employees across brands and markets, and participants said it has helped them build confidence, work more effectively together, and accelerate big projects. Lisa Johnson, who helps facilitate Breakthrough, said this type of program is a competitive advantage for Yum and is more important than ever as the industry is more competitive than ever.
Raising Cane’s is expecting a busy November, with 12 new restaurant openings planned across the country, including new market debuts in Brick, New Jersey; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Notably, this will nearly double the pace of restaurant openings in October, which included seven new restaurants from Wisconsin to Oregon to Georgia. The chain also opened seven new restaurants in August and five in July. In 2025, the company experienced a 10.3% increase in unit count growth year-over-year and finished as the 16th largest chain by sales. Founder Todd Graves has stated that his goal is to become a top 10 restaurant brand in the U.S.
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