Eli's Cheesecake & Maurice Lenell
April 9, 2003

Our first stop was at the Maurice Lenell Cookies Outlet Store.  There were hanging buckets filled with cookies in front of most displays for our sampling.  We have to brush cookie crumbs off the shirt fronts of several people as they loaded the bus to move to our next stop.

Our next stop was Eli's Cheesecake Factory.  We first did the tour of the factory, with Peggy Meyer of Eli's doing the narration.  That day, they were making a special order - Apple Brown Betty Cheesecake.  The tour takes you to within 2 or 3 feet of the assembly line.  One of the workers even brought a cheesecake closer to us and showed us what each layer was.  The aroma through the factory was marvelous!  Wish we could show you the factory, but no cameras are allowed.  It's quite fascinating. 

Peggy Meyer of Eli's narrating a film of how Eli's came to be, the quality ingredients used, the volume produced, etc. 

Everyone then helped themselves to a nice lunch of a sandwich, potato chips, choice of beverages and a piece of a variety of cheesecakes. 

After lunch, we were able to shop in their retail store, where there were some great deals.  As you can see, some found theirs quickly, while others dug deep into the freezer.

Everyone was on a sugar high on the return home.