CINCINNATI — Stephen Schultz, owner of Cheesecake Please, is passionate about two things: people and cheesecake. His cozy café and bakery in the heart of Groesbeck combine those two passions to create a sweet, friendly community.
Cheesecake Please opened its current location on the corner of Galbraith and Colerain on Sept. 25, 2014. Since then, customers who stop by can expect much more than a delicious lunch or slice of cheesecake.
When you walk into Cheesecake Please, the first thing you’ll notice is the cheery orange interior. Schultz said the color is intentional.
“In the wintertime when it’s cold outside, you come in here, see the orange and it feels warm,” he said. “It’s sunshine.”
Schultz wants that sunshine to permeate every aspect of his business.
“It’s warm and inviting, and the whole point of the café is to make people feel like this was a home away from home,” said Peg Krah, business manager of Cheesecake Please. “When they come in, we don’t rush people out. We encourage them to converse and spend time together.”
Schultz likes to spend time with his customers, too. After cooking your lunch, he comes out with a tray of complimentary cheesecake bites and starts chatting with patrons.
“I get to meet a lot of fantastic people,” said Schultz. “I’m 70 years old, you know, I don’t have to work. This keeps me young.”
Cheesecake Please offers a variety of cheescake-based treats, as well as wedding cakes. (Photo provided)
Krah said the customers are warm and kind.
“They have that old-school mentality where they want to come in, sit down and talk to you. They’re walking historians if you give them the opportunity to share with you,” she said. “The cheesecake treat is our way of saying thank you for joining us.”
Cheesecake Please offers an eclectic variety of cheesecake variations, including cheesecake crepes, cheesecake-stuffed strawberries and deep fried cheesecake. White chocolate raspberry cheesecake bites are the most popular menu item. Schultz also creates cheesecake parfaits ranging from cheesecake “shots” to margarita cheesecakes served in little margarita glasses.
“I love making new things,” he said. “You walk in the grocery store and go down the pastry aisle, you get what you need and get out of there. I walk down there and it takes me 30 minutes because I look and think, ‘What could we do with this?’”
Cheesecake Please also caters events and works with clients to make their day special with an individual touch. Schultz has even created massive multi-tiered wedding cheesecakes for brides that want something unique.
Schultz said his business philosophy is simply to have fun and create the best product.
“When I come up with something new and I walk out and people said, ‘Man, that was unbelievable,’ that’s what makes me feel good,” he said. “Then I know I’ve accomplished something.”
