Shops at Highland Village to add parking for Cheesecake Factory

The Shops at Highland Village for the first time Monday officially acknowledged the Cheesecake Factory coming, and announced more parking will be added near the restaurant.

In April, a new project filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation showed that a Cheesecake Factory would be built in an existing building at 4100 Deer Creek, Suite 100, where Barnes & Noble anchored the center of the shopping center for 16 years. A Shops spokesperson declined to comment on the filing at the time, but it officially announced the move in a news release on Monday, adding that the restaurant is expected to open late 2023 after the space is renovated and will create more than 200 jobs.

“The Shops at Highland Village is thrilled to welcome The Cheesecake Factory as the newest addition to our center,” said Ravi Wadhwa, senior general manager at The Shops at Highland Village. “Having this national powerhouse brand join our portfolio is significant win that will purposefully complement our unique tenant mix. Like many of our guests, we are counting down the days until this fan favorite opens its doors to our community.”

The Shops also announced Monday that it intends to add more than three dozen new parking spaces near the restaurant. A new 22-space parking lot is proposed to be built where the southern courtyard (Central Park) currently is. Vehicles would be able to drive through the lot from Deer Creek to Waller Creek. Another 18 spots would be added along Deer Creek.

Central Park has been the main site for most of The Shops’ events and the home of the big Christmas tree every year. Wadhwa said Monday that The Shops would renovate its northern courtyard, a splash pad located on the north side of the future Cheesecake Factory, so that events can be held there.

The Shops will bring the parking lot plan to the city for approval later this summer.

A public hearing will be held at the Highland Village Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on August 15 at 7 p.m. and the City Council meeting on August 22 at 7:30 p.m. Both meetings will take place at the Highland Village Municipal Complex located at 1000 Highland Village Road.