Cheesecake Factory to Open in Twelve Oaks Mall

The long wait is over, Michigan residents.

The Cheesecake Factory announced today that it will open a location at Novi's Twelve Oaks Mall later this year.

The popular national restaurant chain, whose claim to fame is its huge selection of cheesecakes and desserts, can be found in nearly three dozen states.

This would be the company's first official location in Michigan. However, some might say the restaurant chain got its start here.

David Overton, founder and CEO of the Cheesecake Factory, grew up in Detroit. The concept for the restaurant chain began when his mother, Evelyn Overton, opened a cheesecake store in the city in the late 1940s.

The family moved to California in the 1970s, where they started a wholesale cheesecake business that eventually evolved into the restaurant chain.

"Having grown up in Detroit and watched my parents start their cheesecake business here in the 1950s, opening a Cheesecake Factory at Twelve Oaks feels like a true homecoming," Overton said in a press release.

The Twelve Oaks restaurant is expected to open later this year.

“The Cheesecake Factory will undoubtedly be a huge favorite with our shoppers, and we’re delighted that Twelve Oaks was selected as its first Michigan location,” said William Taubman, chief operating officer of the Bloomfield Hills-based Taubman Centers, which runs Twelve Oaks Mall.

In addition to cheesecake, the restaurant offers appetizers, seafood, steaks, salads, sandwiches, small plates and snacks.

It was distinguished as America’s “best desserts” in Zagat's 2012 National Restaurant Chains Survey.

Royal Oak reacts

Here's what Royal Oak Patch Facebook readers think about the Cheesecake Factory coming to Michigan.

• Carol Cybulski Hennessey: Original flavor (cheesecake) is my best but raspberry is my second. So glad you are coming to Michigan. Best dish is difficult because everything I have had has been great.
• Stephanie Comptois: We need one in Royal Oak.
• Laura Ceci Marhevko: I have only been to the one i Las Vegas i love it. Glad that one is coming closer.
• Lora Konja Holden: I'm glad it's not conning to Royal Oak We don't need another chain restaurant!