STAMFORD, CT — The Cheesecake Factory has announced plans to close its Stamford restaurant, located in the Stamford Town Center mall, and cut over 100 jobs next month. The closure marks the end of a nearly four-year run in the mall’s restaurant plaza, located on Tresser Boulevard.
In a letter to the state labor department, dated June 26, the company said the restaurant, located in the Stamford Town Center mall, is scheduled to close Aug. 1, at which time all employees at the restaurant will be laid off.
The letter, which was posted to the department’s website Tuesday, indicates 104 employees will be affected by the restaurant’s closing. (To sign up for Stamford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)
“As you know, business conditions rapidly and suddenly deteriorated during the continuing COVID-19 crisis, national emergency and state and local shutdown orders,” the letter reads. “The Cheesecake Factory markets have softened over a period of several months, and this is anticipated to continue.”
Stamford Economic Development Director Thomas Madden confirmed Wednesday the restaurant will be closing, as will “several other restaurants” in the city.
“The impact from COVID-19 and efforts to stem the spread of the virus by shutting down business with high vector transmission points, along with the work from home orders for our local corporations in the office buildings, has had an impact on the local service economy,” Madden said in an email to Patch. “Cheesecake Factory is one of the restaurants that depends on office workers being in their office. We will see several other restaurants close as well due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Employees at the restaurant were first temporarily furloughed on March 17, which was expected to only last six months or less, the company said. Laid off positions include servers, bakers, line cooks, dishwashers, bartenders and managers, among other positions.
The Cheesecake Factory opened at the Stamford Town Center in October 2016. The restaurant chain also has Connecticut locations in Danbury, Trumbull and West Hartford.
