FREEDOM OF SPEECH

THE PLACE TO INHALE MUNCHIES

By Dan Marek | State Press Magazine
Published: April 20th, 1999

After a long day of smoking there is often only one thing that will get people off the couch- the munchies.

Scott Jennings, local business man and ASU graduate, had the perfect solutions for those cotton mouth cravings- Cheba Hut- the “toasted” sub shop where “the only thing fried is the occasional customer.”

Jennings spent his school days delivering food for various establishments across the valley when the idea for Cheba Hut came to him.

“Every time I delivered food for some place there was something ‘funny’ going on,” Jennings said from his Hardy and University location. “I figured I might as well incorporate all of that into food and make light of the subject of Marijuana.”

In 1998 Jennings opened his first location on Apache Boulevard with a pro-marijuana twist on the subs. The menu boasts 20 subs, all of which are named after different strains of marijuana.

“It was modeled after Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams (in the movie the pair sold marijuana out of an ice cream truck if you asked for it by strain) so I got the idea to name each sub after a different type of marijuana,” Jennings said. “Each sub is named by region like, the ‘Midwest’ is the club and the ‘Jamaican Red’ is the spicy chicken. The most popular sub we have is the ‘Kind’. I’m not sure if it’s because of the name or that it’s a turkey sandwich.”

At first glance, the menu resembles Amsterdam-like café fare. A typical order might consist of a ‘Humboldt Blunt with all the finest herbs from California’-translation: a 12 inch Veggie sub with guacamole, sprouts, fresh greens, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers and cheese.

“We’re just trying to get people to ease up on their thoughts of Marijuana,” Jennings said. “I think its working. We get everybody from kids to professionals. A lot of them will smile and say, ‘I remember those names from when I was young.’ Most of the people know it’s a joke. They laugh when they see that ‘Shwag’ is the bologna sandwich and then they order.”

But there were some people who did not realize that it was a joke. When word spread that Cheba Hut was selling subs named after marijuana, the Tempe police showed up to check things out.

“The police came in at one pointy,” Jennings said. “The area supervisor came in and said ‘I hear that I might be offended by your place.’ He walked around and saw that we were legit and said, ‘You don’t offend me in any way.’ He could see that we were just doing business and obviously for $4.50 a piece, there is no pot in the sandwiches. It’s legit. I’m here making sandwiches and only making sandwiches.”

Before word spread about Cheba Hut, the business had to be invented with ideas in order to get the word out. Last year, Jennings and his crew took a papier- Mache joint with the Cheba Hut logo and hung it over University Drive from the PV Bridge.

“We went to hang it up and gave free subs away on campus,” he said. “We got back to the shop and a few people were like, ‘We saw your big joint.’ So we called the State Press and let them know about it, but by the time they got out there someone had stolen it. The joint was gone within two hours from the time that we hung it there. It’s probably in some guy’s dorm now.”

The sub shop is also celebrating 4/20 with their annual Cheech and Chong movie festival.

“We’re having any sub, chips and soda for $4.20 that’s a pretty good deal.” “I had it last year, so this is the annual Cheech and Chong movie festival. I run Cheech and Chong movies all day long. We are going to have a steel drum player here and a DJ at the first location spinning on the roof. We’re giving away shirts, making a video at Cheba #1 that will eventually end up a commercial. Last 4/20 we were Packed all day.”

Too toasted to get off the couch? That’s OK, Cheba Hut delivers!

“I’d much rather people come in so we can’t mess up your sub, its hotter coming out of the stove,” Jennings said. “The sandwich is still good, we wrap them in aluminum foil, which is spendy, but its worth it cause it stays better. A lot of times when someone calls they are feeling ‘pretty good’. So when they are ordering for a group of people that might be feeling ‘pretty good’ the order can get mixed up on the way. So just like in any business there are some mix-ups, but everything works out all right.”