It's official: The Cheesecake Factory will move into The Parks at Arlington mall by the end of the year.

The restaurant will take 10,800 square feet on the second floor of the former Mervyns space, said Cindy Thompson, marketing manager for the mall at Cooper Street and Interstate 20. She said the chain's high profile should draw diners from a wide area when it opens in November.

"They are an icon," Thompson said.

Paperwork was finalized Thursday, said Howard Gordon, senior vice president for marketing for the Calabasas Hills, Calif., company. The restaurant was believed to be coming to Arlington after the company filed required forms with the state earlier this year.

The Cheesecake Factory is a coveted tenant, offering many types of dishes, a full bar and a variety of cheesecakes.

This will be the company's fifth restaurant in North Texas; other Cheesecake Factorys are in Southlake, Frisco and Dallas, and a Grand Lux Cafe is at the Dallas Galleria.

The company looked at the Arlington mall because of the good business the other North Texas locations have had, Gordon said. There are no plans for another restaurant in North Texas right now, he said.

"We're very selective where we open up our restaurants," Gordon said.

The Parks at Arlington bolstered its bid for the restaurant by getting local business leaders involved and touting the coming Cowboys stadium, Thompson said. Mall owner General Growth Properties, one of the country's largest, has had a long relationship with the company, she said.

"We showed them a great deal of enthusiasm," she said.

The mall is working on leasing the rest of the Mervyns space, Thompson said. She said she can't say more about prospective tenants while negotiations continue.

The 85,000-square-foot Mervyns building has been vacant since the end of 2005, when the California company closed many of its stores. In January, General Growth Properties bought the space, enabling the mall to move forward with remodeling and leasing plans, Thompson said.

"It's the front door for the mall," Thompson said. "When they redevelop the space, it will not only be an awesome focal point for the restaurant but also the mall."

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