Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2022
Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated and its wholly owned subsidiaries (referred to herein collectively as the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) and are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). All intercompany accounts and transactions for the periods presented have been eliminated in consolidation. The unaudited financial statements presented herein include all material adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair statement of the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the period. However, these results are not necessarily indicative of results that may be achieved for any other interim period or for the full fiscal year. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 22, 2022. We utilize a 52/53-week fiscal year ending on the Tuesday closest to December 31 for financial reporting purposes. Fiscal year 2022 consists of 53 weeks and will end on January 3, 2023. Fiscal year 2021, which ended on December 28, 2021, was a 52-week year.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reporting periods covered by the financial statements. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Impacts to our Operating Environment	COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Impacts to our Operating Environment We have experienced significant disruptions to our business as federal, state and local restrictions have fluctuated over time to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. While most of our restaurants operated with no restrictions on indoor dining during the 2021 fiscal year and 2022 fiscal year to date, our operations were notably impacted during periods of accelerating case counts which led to restaurant staff quarantines and a shift in consumer behavior towards sheltering-in-place and social distancing. We have incurred and may continue to incur additional costs to address government regulations and the safety of our staff members and customers. During fiscal year 2022 to date, along with COVID-19, our operating results have been impacted by geopolitical and other macroeconomic factors, leading to increased commodity and wage inflation and other increased costs. The ongoing effects of COVID-19 and its variants, along with other geopolitical and macroeconomic events, could lead to further government mandates, including but not limited to capacity restrictions, shifts in consumer behavior, wage inflation, staffing challenges, product and services cost inflation and disruptions in the supply chain. If these factors significantly impact our cash flow in the future, we may again implement mitigation actions such as suspending share repurchases and dividends, increasing borrowings on our credit facility or modifying our operating strategies. Some of these measures may have an adverse impact on our business.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which is intended to simplify the accounting and measurement of convertible instruments and the settlement assessment for contracts in an entity’s own equity. This pronouncement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and early adoption is permitted. The guidance allows for either full retrospective adoption or modified retrospective adoption. We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 utilizing the modified retrospective method and, accordingly, recorded a $4.8 million cumulative adjustment to retained earnings to reverse previously recorded beneficial conversion features. As further discussed in Note 5, we issued certain convertible senior notes due 2026 (“Notes”) during the second quarter of fiscal 2021, and the accounting for these instruments was based on the guidance in ASU 2020-06. Additionally, the impact on diluted earnings per share of the Notes was calculated based on the if-converted method, as further described in Note 11.

Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2022

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated and its wholly owned subsidiaries (referred to herein collectively as the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) and are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). All intercompany accounts and transactions for the periods presented have been eliminated in consolidation. The unaudited financial statements presented herein include all material adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair statement of the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the period. However, these results are not necessarily indicative of results that may be achieved for any other interim period or for the full fiscal year. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 22, 2022.

We utilize a 52/53-week fiscal year ending on the Tuesday closest to December 31 for financial reporting purposes. Fiscal year 2022 consists of 53 weeks and will end on January 3, 2023. Fiscal year 2021, which ended on December 28, 2021, was a 52-week year.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reporting periods covered by the financial statements. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Impacts to our Operating Environment

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Impacts to our Operating Environment

We have experienced significant disruptions to our business as federal, state and local restrictions have fluctuated over time to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. While most of our restaurants operated with no restrictions on indoor dining during the 2021 fiscal year and 2022 fiscal year to date, our operations were notably impacted during periods of accelerating case counts which led to restaurant staff quarantines and a shift in consumer behavior towards sheltering-in-place and social distancing. We have incurred and may continue to incur additional costs to address government regulations and the safety of our staff members and customers. During fiscal year 2022 to date, along with COVID-19, our operating results have been impacted by geopolitical and other macroeconomic factors, leading to increased commodity and wage inflation and other increased costs.

The ongoing effects of COVID-19 and its variants, along with other geopolitical and macroeconomic events, could lead to further government mandates, including but not limited to capacity restrictions, shifts in consumer behavior, wage inflation, staffing challenges, product and services cost inflation and disruptions in the supply chain. If these factors significantly impact our cash flow in the future, we may again implement mitigation actions such as suspending share repurchases and dividends, increasing borrowings on our credit facility or modifying our operating strategies. Some of these measures may have an adverse impact on our business.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which is intended to simplify the accounting and measurement of convertible instruments and the settlement assessment for contracts in an entity’s own equity. This pronouncement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and early adoption is permitted. The guidance allows for either full retrospective adoption or modified retrospective adoption. We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 utilizing the modified retrospective method and, accordingly, recorded a $4.8 million cumulative adjustment to retained earnings to reverse previously recorded beneficial conversion features.

As further discussed in Note 5, we issued certain convertible senior notes due 2026 (“Notes”) during the second quarter of fiscal 2021, and the accounting for these instruments was based on the guidance in ASU 2020-06. Additionally, the impact on diluted earnings per share of the Notes was calculated based on the if-converted method, as further described in Note 11.