Eli's Cheesecake executives broke ground on July 26 on an expansion of its production facility, located in the Dunning neighborhood of Chicago, which will grow to 104,000 square feet. The expansion will be complete by early 2023.
President Marc Schulman says that the facility, which has produced Chicago-style cheesecake for 36 years, was starting to get crowded.
The facility, located at 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, is expected to have its expansion completed by the first quarter of 2023, Schulman said. The 42,000 square foot expansion will include the offices of both Eli and Eli's Cheesecake Bakery Cafe.
The Chicago-style cheesecakes were served exclusively at Eli Schulman’s restaurant, Eli’s The Place for Steak, until 1980, when the cakes were a success at the first Taste of Chicago.
Schulman estimates that about 60% of Eli’s revenue today comes from the foodservice industry, including its airline partnerships with United and American, as well as restaurant chains like Culver's. The rest of its business comes from retail grocers like Jewel-Osco and Mariano's, as well as mail order.
