GREENSBORO, N.C. — Just a spoonful of sugar. Better yet, a bowl.

“Almost 20 pounds of sugar,” said Tim Amoroso, son of Cheesecakes by Alex owner, Alex Amoroso. 

What You Need To Know 

Cheesecakes by Alex has been in business around 20 years 

The original location is in downtown Greensboro with a newer retail location in downtown Winston-Salem

Cheesecakes by Alex hopes to open a production facility in the near future 

Twenty pounds of sugar and 20 years of experience makes for the perfect cheesecake recipe, according to Alex Amoroso, who says he has come a long way since he opened his business.

“I made one for my mother-in-law, who lived with us for 30 years, and she wanted something sweet one night, and I had some cream cheese. Didn't like it. Recipe was not good. I had neck surgery about two weeks later so that was on my mind, and I just started baking cheesecakes to get where I wanted, and that’s how we ended up here 20 years later,” Amoroso said.

Amoroso's son, Tim, is a key slice to this cheesecake business, but it's not always been a piece of cake.

“We have had some cream cheese shortages, and we had to get creative over the last few months, but finally we are back on track with cheese, which is nice. If you use another brand than this, it’s just not quite the same,” Tim Amoroso said.

I guess you could say cream cheese runs through their veins, and even more proof the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, is Tim Amoroso's 4-year-old daughter, Grace Marie, who has literally grown up in the business.

“She'll probably work here to some degree, and if she wants to stick around and help continue the legacy that would be great. If not I have a son behind her, and we’ll see what he wants to do,” Tim Amoroso said. 

In the meantime, the family cheesecake empire continues to grow.

“We’ve utilized about every square inch of that kitchen, and we aren't keeping up with production, it’s too tight,” said Alex Amoroso.

So the family recently expanded. Cheesecakes by Alex added a new retail location in downtown Winston-Salem and hopes to add a production facility in the near future.

“There’s other equipment that could make life a lot easier. There’s just no place to put it, you just can't hang it from the ceiling. It’s just time for us to go to a central kitchen, move all our wholesale division over there, because we wholesale throughout the state,” 

Then, who knows? Maybe you'll find one near you soon.

“We’d love to go to other cities. We’ve kicked around the idea of doing some franchising. It’s just that there's no way to sustain that where we're at. It’s just time,” Alex Amoroso said.