You either love it or you hate it—regardless, the chain restaurant with more than 250 menu items is coming to downtown D.C., replacing award-winning chef Jeff Buben’s Woodward Table.
Popville first broke the rumored news of the Cheesecake Factory’s second D.C. location (there’s another one in Friendship Heights) on August 12, citing this tweet:
https://twitter.com/erincohan/status/1159937660175245313
A representative from the Cheesecake Factory’s public relations firm confirmed in an email to DCist that the restaurant will be coming to the former site of Woodward Table. It is expected to open in the early half of 2020. Alethea Rowe, senior director of public relations at Cheesecake Factory, told DCist that they selected the location “because it’s in a very busy area with a lot of foot traffic.” She added that there are no plans currently in place to open additional locations in D.C.
Buben has yet to make a public statement on the matter and did not respond to DCist for comment. He told Eater, “Unfortunately we’ve got a few things going on with the staff, and it’s a trying time right now.” In addition, Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsma spoke to Buben, who told Sietsema that the restaurant was “never able to transcend the neighborhood.”
https://twitter.com/tomsietsema/status/1153378288523468800
According to Woodward Table’s website, the restaurant’s last day of operation will be on Sunday. The site also invites customers to join them for Woodward Table’s final “restaurant week menu,” for the rest of the week.
Meanwhile, many of Woodward Table’s items are up for auction on Rasmus, including deep fryers, barstools, and patio furniture.
Buben graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in 1978. Since moving to the D.C. area, he has opened numerous restaurants in the city, including Vidalia, a popular spot for Southern cuisine that closed its doors in 2016 after 23 years of operation. But even after Woodward Table closes, Buben will still be running one more restaurant in the District—Bistro Bis, located on Capitol Hill and offering French cuisine.
If Twitter is any indication, Cheesecake Factory’s arrival in downtown D.C. is controversial.
https://twitter.com/rahmahvirginia/status/1161060075525595136
https://twitter.com/BobStein_FT/status/1161006383883534336
https://twitter.com/jbillinson/status/1161385009732866048
Others couldn’t be happier with the news.
https://twitter.com/tingshenphoto/status/1161492551616073728
https://twitter.com/PWolfson6/status/1161069019027398657
https://twitter.com/LibraAbsolut/status/1161038037993869312
So, come 2020, be prepared—the Cheesecake Factory is coming to downtown whether you like it or not. Just don’t lose your damn mind like folks in Clarendon did during a free cheesecake promotion last year.
This story has been updated to include comment from Cheesecake Factory's Alethea Rowe and information about Woodward Table's online auction.
