FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Marijuana-themed sandwich shop planning downtown store

BY JOSH O'LEARY
IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN Appeared in print: MARCH 10, 2010

Cheba Hut Toasted Subs, a marijuana-themed restaurant, plans to open its first Midwest location here by the start of the university's fall semester.

With a menu that features sandwiches the likes of the Homegrown, Majic Mushroom and Jamaican Red, the Southwest-based chain touts that "the only thing fried is the occasional customer" on its Web site.

Though no illegal ingredients will be found in the subs, those who have the munchies can top their sandwiches with hemp cream cheese or order a hemp brownie.

Matt Trethewey, Cheba Hut?s chief operating officer, said the restaurant's marijuana theme is all tongue-in-cheek and is an exercise in free speech.

"There are a lot of things that differentiate us from the other guys out there, and No. 1 is definitely the marketing hook -- we're provocative," Trethewey said. "We're speaking to a certain audience or to a certain generation of people. But really, it's an American concept. We?re talking about our First Amendment rights here.

"You can base a concept on anything you want here in America. We're doing that, and speaking to people that get it."

Cheba Hut, which first opened in 1998 in Tempe, Ariz., has 12 shops in the western U.S., all of which are located near major universities. Trethewey said the Iowa City location is one of six sites in the works for expansion.

The local store operators will be David Timmons, Deb Wedemeier and Kent Wedemeier, all from Cedar Rapids, under the group name Midwest Munchie Management.

Kent Wedemeier said he and his wife had heard about the franchise through word of mouth from friends and took a trip to Cheba Hut locations in Fort Collins and Boulder, Colo., to visit stores before jumping on board. This will be the Wedemeiers? first restaurant investment.

"Their concept is a counterculture concept, and that?s appealing because it's so universal," he said. "The young people can identify, and of course the older generation can identify."

The restaurant, which will feature rock and roll and reggae music, will offer a friendlier experience than its competitors, Trethewey said.

"It's definitely prevalent throughout the store, but our building block is first our solid food and our recipes -- it's our above-and-beyond customer service, and it's the atmosphere we create here," Trethewey said.