FREEDOM OF SPEECH

NEW CHEBA HUT SERVES UP TOASTED SUBS AND HAPPY CUSTOMERS

By Jeff Sikes | Jack Central
Published: April 30, 2009

Making the 5,500-foot climb to Flagstaff is the new restaurant, Cheba Hut. The chain made its debut in Mesa and has been expanding throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado for the last decade, and its menu description is different from every other restaurant in Flagstaff. To put it bluntly, Cheba Hut's menu is based on different slang terms for marijuana. Nugs, pinners and blunts comprise the sandwich size options, and the other food choices stick with the marijuana motif.

It's been no afternoon burn ride for the proprietors, though. The process of opening the sandwich shop has been a juggler's act for the four owners. Lisa Alethea, one of the restaurant's owners, is a full-time student, local entrepreneur and guardian to her sister's daughter.

"It's been rough handling all these responsibilities, but I had an opportunity to get involved, and I jumped at the chance," said Alethea, a junior criminal justice major.

Coinciding with its grand opening on April 20, the restaurant saw a huge response from famished locals and former valley residents. Andrew Paquette, a senior microbiology major, said if the restaurant belonged anywhere, it would be Flagstaff.

"I am so stoked they opened a Cheba Hut up here," Paquette said. "I went to Cheba Hut all the time in Tempe, and when I moved to Flagstaff, I figured the place would be a perfect fit. I mean c'mon, this town is hippie central. If any city needed a Cheba Hut, Flagstaff would be it."

While the restaurant is saturated with marijuana culture - posters of Bob Marley, John Lennon and Pink Floyd hang on the walls, and the music selection is comprised of anthems from the "love child" era - not everyone goes there for the cannabis ambiance.

"I'm not a huge fan of the whole drug-culture scene," said Mary Davidson, a freshman hotel and restaurant management major. "But I tried the food and loved it. So, if that's what it takes to make an awesome sandwich, then by all means, tack that stuff on the walls and start baking."

Alethea encourages all Flagstaff residents to come and try Cheba Hut's fresh food and see why it stands out from other restaurants in the area.

"Everything is made fresh daily. We prepare all our own sauces and get our bread fresh from the Village Bakery. Our food is unique. There is nothing else like it in Flagstaff; that's a fact."

Cheba Hut is located at 1141 S. Milton Rd. and is now open seven days a week.