Eli's Cheesecake facts for kids
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Eli's Cheesecake Logo
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food production |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Eli Schulman |
| Headquarters |
Chicago, Illinois
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USA
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| Products | Cheesecake |
| Owner | Marc Schulman, President |
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Number of employees
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51-200 |
Eli's Cheesecake is a famous company from Chicago that makes delicious cheesecakes. Their most well-known dessert is Eli's Original Plain Cheesecake. It's made with creamy ingredients like cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. All of this yummy filling sits on a buttery shortbread cookie crust. Besides their classic plain cheesecake, Eli's now makes many other kinds. You can find cheesecakes with chocolate, fruit, or caramel. They also offer other treats like tarts, cakes, and even tiramisu.
Contents
The Story of Eli's Cheesecake
The story of Eli's Cheesecake begins with its founder, Eli Schulman. He was born in Chicago in 1910. Eli loved the restaurant business. In 1940, he opened his first place, a coffee shop called Eli's Ogden Huddle. Later, he opened Eli's Stage Delicatessen. Many famous people enjoyed eating at his restaurants.
Eli's The Place For Steak
In 1966, Eli opened a new restaurant called Eli's The Place for Steak. This restaurant quickly became very popular with celebrities. Stars like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Gale Sayers often ate there.
In the late 1970s, Eli Schulman created a special dessert for his steakhouse. This was the original plain cheesecake. It became the restaurant's signature sweet treat. In 1980, this cheesecake was featured at the very first Taste of Chicago festival. It quickly became the most popular dessert there. By 2005, about 2 million slices had been sold at the festival! Eli's The Place for Steak closed its doors in 2005 after 39 years.
Eli's Cheesecake Company
After the first Taste of Chicago, Eli's Cheesecake became its own company. It started in a small bakery on Chicago's North Side in 1980. In 1996, the company moved to its current home. This new place is called Eli's Cheesecake World. It has a huge, modern bakery and a bakery cafe. Eli's cheesecakes are shipped to customers all over the U.S. and even to other countries. You can also find Eli's products through a partnership with Lou Malnati's. This partnership helps share Chicago-style food across the country.
Eli Schulman's son, Marc Schulman, became the president of Eli's Cheesecake in 1984. He has been leading the company since his father passed away in 1988. Later that year, a playground was named the "Eli M. Schulman Playground" to honor Eli.
In 2015, The Eli's Cheesecake Company released its first cookbook. It was called The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend. The book honored Eli M. Schulman. It included 40 different recipes, like the classic Original Plain cheesecake. It also had recipes from Eli's famous steakhouse. The cookbook shared fun stories from Marc Schulman and his wife, Maureen. A second edition came out in 2021 with even more recipes and stories.
Amazing Achievements
Eli's Cheesecake has made special cheesecakes for many important events. They have created cheesecakes for four American presidential inaugurations!
For example, in 1993 and 1997, they made huge 2,000-pound cheesecakes for Bill Clinton's inauguration parties. In 2009, Eli's made a 500-pound cheesecake for Barack Obama's inaugural ball. They made another 500-pound cheesecake for Obama's Inaugural Staff Ball in 2013.
Eli's Cheesecake also made a 2,000-pound cheesecake in 2009. This was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Burnham Plan. It also marked the 29th anniversary of the Taste of Chicago and Eli's Cheesecake. Over the years, Eli's has made cakes for other big events. These include Hillary Clinton's 50th birthday and Disney World's 25th birthday. They also made a cake for Abraham Lincoln's Birthday Bicentennial Banquet, which President Barack Obama attended. Eli's cheesecakes are still a favorite at the Taste of Chicago.
Eli's has also been featured on popular TV shows. These include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2012, Eli's Cheesecake was shown on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer. It was part of a special called "Made in America."
In July 2022, Eli's started building a large 42,000 square foot expansion for their bakery.
