The Cheesecake Factory expands to Egypt with new Cairo Café

EGYPT – American quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand The Cheesecake Factory is set to enter the Egyptian market with a new café in Cairo. 

The café, located at 5A by The Waterway in New Cairo, will specialize in The Cheesecake Factory’s well-known selection of cheesecakes and desserts.

This marks the brand’s second attempt at establishing a presence in Egypt. The Cheesecake Factory previously operated a restaurant on Suez Road in Cairo, which opened in 2018 but closed in 2022. 

The new café model represents a different approach, focusing solely on desserts rather than the brand’s full-service dining experience.

The expansion is made possible through a partnership with Austrian Company For Hospitality, which serves as the master distributor. 

The company owns airline caterer C&A Catering and distributes Pearl Water bottled water in Egypt. 

Alongside the café launch, The Cheesecake Factory has also signed a joint venture agreement with Egyptian distributors to introduce The Cheesecake Factory Bakery to the country for the first time. 

The bakery will bring an assortment of cheesecakes and desserts to the local market, although an official opening date has yet to be announced.

The Cheesecake Factory, founded in 1978 in Beverly Hills, California, operates more than 300 locations worldwide and offers over 30 varieties of cheesecake. 

The brand first entered the Middle East in 2012 through a franchise agreement with Alshaya Group, which now operates three restaurants in Kuwait. The brand also has a presence in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, with multiple locations across the region.

Egypt’s food and beverage market continues to attract international investment, driven by increasing demand for premium dining experiences. 

Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut, a leading producer of chocolate and cocoa products, is set to open its first chocolate factory in Egypt with an investment of US$30 million (EGP 900 million). 

Additionally, the Food Export Council had set a target of achieving food exports worth US$6 billion (EGP 285 billion) by the end of 2024 and US$7.7 billion (EGP 365 billion) by 2027, aiming to strengthen Egypt’s role in the global food industry.