National Cheesecake Day 2015 Freebies: 5 Places Offering Deals, Discounts On Slices

National Cheesecake Day is celebrated annually on July 30, providing cheesecake fans with a wealth of opportunities to find free cheesecake, sample new flavors or get discounts on their favorite brands. Here the shortlist of the best deals for cheesecake aficionados hoping to make the most of National Cheesecake Day.

1. For those who have time to eat in, the Cheesecake Factory is offering half off any cheesecake slice Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday is also the day it will debut its newest flavor: salted caramel cheesecake. Find Cheesecake Factory locations here.

2. Eli’s Cheesecake in Chicago is holding a cheesecake festival Aug. 1 and 2 that includes free samples of cheesecake.

3. Chompie’s, in Phoenix, Arizona has a buy one, get one free deal Thursday. Flavors include Oreo, chocolate, classic and red velvet.

4. The famous Junior’s Restaurant and Cheesecake in New York City is offering cheesecake slices at half price for those who buy lunch or dinner entrees. It’s also offering a $5 discount for mail order cheesecakes with the code CHEESECAKEDAY15, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.

5. Peteet’s Famous Cheesecakes, which has two locations in Michigan, is giving free slices of cheesecake to its first 100 customers Thursday, and offering 20 percent off any purchase for the rest of the day.

It is not clear what the origins of National Cheesecake Day are, according to the website Holiday Insights. As for the history of cheesecake itself, the beloved dessert may have first been made in ancient Greece and eaten by athletes during the first Olympic Games, although it would have looked and tasted somewhat different from today’s cheesecake. Ingredients were more Spartan, generally including just flour, honey, and cheese, according to Cheesecake.com.

The Romans subsequently modified the recipe, and cheesecake was further adapted as it made its way to European countries during the Middle Ages. It was not until 1872 that cream cheese was developed, allowing for the creation of the classic cheesecake that we know and love today.