The cheesecake factory incorporated (nasdaq: cake) was started by evelyn overton when she sold cheesecakes from her basement in detroit in the 1940s. its first restaurant opened in beverly hills in 1978. cheesecake factory has been a publicly held corporation since 1993 and currently has 185 restaurants and two bakery facilities. its fiscal year end is the tuesday closest to december 31 each year. to follow are cheesecake factory's four basic financial statements for its most recent year, the year ending january 3, 2017.