Before she became a successful pharmaceutical sales representative, the character was an aspiring actress who moved to California from Nebraska. As she struggled to land acting gigs, Penny worked as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory, before she unexpectedly started manning the restaurant’s bar section in The Big Bang Theory season 4.

While the rest of The Big Bang Theory cast lacked in social skills, she excelled in mingling. Given this, Penny thrived in being a waitstaff at The Cheesecake Factory, despite . So, it was surprising when the establishment suddenly made her a bartender.

Cuoco had to miss two episodes of The Big Bang Theory season 4. At the time, the sitcom didn’t make a big deal out of it and didn’t even explain why she wasn’t around. Eventually, during.

The Apology Insufficiency” episode, but to hide the actress’ leg cast, the writers decided to put her behind the bar at The Cheesecake Factory as its new bartender.