Have you ever been stopped by a tourist asking where the Center City Cheesecake Factory is located? Did you look down, shuffle your feet and mumble, “all the factories left Philadelphia decades ago?” Did you ever try and counter the blank stares over our Cheesecake Factory void with a suggestion of one of Philadelphia’s independent restaurants? Were you stopped short, because these tourists were looking at you with some sort of pity? They somehow felt sorry for you, because you had never eaten a 3,000+ calorie plus Bistro Shrimp Pasta? Well guess what, you’ll soon be able proudly point these chain-loving Philistines towards 15th and Walnut. The new six level project  will offer two levels of Cheesecake Factory enjoyment, complete with an outdoor terrace.

Cheesecake Factory has been rumored to be heading to the corner of 15th and Walnut since May of 2012, but yesterday’s Center City Residents Association meeting was the first time it was publicly acknowledged. The neighborhood association’s endorsement can go along way with the Philadelphia Zoning Board, which will have final say on the project.

And if Cheesecake Factory’s make you groan, maybe there is some solace that a UNIQLO should be in the shiny new building.

15th and Walnut [Official Site]