Photo Credit: Cheba Hut via Facebook

Cheba Hut, a cannabis-themed sandwich franchise founded in Tempe, AZ, is looking to open a couple of locations in Athens. No surprise there. The South is an as-yet-untapped market for the company, which has a bunch of restaurants in Colorado, but nothing closer to us than Madison, WI.

Founder Scott Jennings said they're looking downtown for the first location, but don't have a specific one picked out yet.

I asked whether it wasn't weird to open in states that haven't legalized or even decriminalized marijuana use, but Jennings said, "No. When I opened our first location in Tempe, Arizona back in 1998, marijuana was definitely not legal in the state… but, we still have freedom of speech in all 50 states. The way I looked at it was that we can call our subs whatever we want. Cheba Hut is about great food and a relaxed atmosphere where guest can come as they are… we don’t judge. If you don’t smoke pot, we are fine with that—we want to feed everyone. To us, it’s more about the interaction than the transaction. We want people to enjoy eating out and escape the established, which isn’t just a play on words. We take our food and service quality very seriously."

He also believes in decriminalization and sentence commutation, at a minimum.

The menu includes toasted and cold subs, a robust section of vegetarian options, chips, meatballs, cookies, Rice Krispie treats, salads, nachos made with Doritos, garlic cheese bread and Kool-Aid. Some locations have full bars.