At a time when restaurant sales are down and grocery store frozen-aisle purchases are up, Cheesecake Factory (CAKE 0.39%) is adding a new line of desserts to its existing offerings: cheesecake ice cream. At the same time, it has started offering adult beverages as an option for pick-up orders.
While Cheesecake Factory already has cheesecakes for sale in grocery stores, the ice cream creations are a brand new offering. The initial lineup features seven different flavors, which use many of the same ingredients included in the company's cheesecakes. These range from pieces of birthday cake to sour cream, key lime, or graham crackers.
Image source: Getty Images.
The ice creams will begin appearing on supermarket shelves throughout April. The release coincides with the COVID-19 shutdown, a time when most people are making far more grocery purchases for cooking and eating at home than forays to the local restaurant.
For those looking to soothe the anxieties of quarantine with some liquid refreshment, bottles of beer and wine are on the menu for restaurant pick-up orders, provided that they're placed online through the company's website. These beverages are available at most, though not all, of Cheesecake Factory's approximately 200 U.S. locations.
The alcoholic beverages on offer varies by locale. Wines are drawn from a variety of California vintages at most restaurants, while beers like Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are sold at many outlets, along with a wide range of more local brews.
Take-out and delivery services are the only options currently available at Cheesecake Factory's brick-and-mortar locations, according to today's COVID-19 update on the company's website. The pandemic forced it to furlough over 40,000 workers and reduce executive pay last month.
