I first walked in and asked the Hostess if they were hiring. She replied that they were, and then handed me an application and said to sit in the bar area and fill it out. I filled it out completely and then handed it to her, and she went back to get the manager for a 1:1 interview. He was a young looking man, maybe in his late 20s or early 30s. After the initial greeting and handshake, we went to a booth in the corner of the bar area where I had been sitting. He asked me very standard interview questions, and I answered them very promptly, maintaining excellent eye contact. He did seem impressed, and told me he would forward my information to the general manager and he would give me a call within the next few days. I called back twice and eventually was told, flat out, that they didn't have a position available. HOWEVER, I do have a very good friend of mine who just recently graduated from University of Houston and became a manager at another Cheesecake Factory location here in Houston. I asked him over the phone his opinion and he did say that there are certain things Cheesecake Facotry will automatically not hire you for saying in the interview. He did say specifically that when asked why you wish to work for The Cheesecake Factory, ANY MENTION OF MONEY IS AN AUTOMATIC NOT HIRE. He also said that if you are told they will call you to schedule a second interview, rather than setting you up for a specific time to return right there, then it's called a courtesy decline, meaning you did not get an offer at that time but they would still like you to return as a customer so they very respectfully tell you no.

It was a 2-step interview. The first interview was with a manager and the second interview followed about 15 minutes after with the general manager. Both were very pleasant and asked general interview questions.