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Isaac Montoya was a part of the <a href="https://chebahut.com/franchise-application/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=employee-turned-franchisee-grows-alongside-cheba-hut-in-albuquerque-new-mexico-2707148" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cheba Hut</a> family long before becoming a franchisee. He started out with the brand in 2012 while he was still in school, and eventually worked his way up through the ranks to become a franchisee. And even though Montoya didn&rsquo;t accept a role with his local <a href="https://1851franchise.com/chebahut" target="_blank">Cheba Hut</a> restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico with an end goal of becoming a local owner, he says the path that led him there was completely natural.

Montoya said, &ldquo;I was actually a general manager of Cheba Hut here in Albuquerque while I was still in college. Then, after a couple of years, one of the partners that owned the location I was working at dissolved their ownership. The owners needed help, so I invested with them and acted as an owner/operator and general manager for about two years. At that point, I pulled myself out of the general manager role and strictly worked as a franchisee.&rdquo;

Right now, Montoya owns one Cheba Hut location. However, that&rsquo;s expected to change soon. They recently looked at a second location in Albuquerque, and they&rsquo;re planning to expand to three locations within the next few years.

That potential for growth is part of what inspired Montoya to move from a general manager role to that of a franchisee. Since day one, he recognized that Cheba Hut is a franchise system that&rsquo;s designed to be successful in a variety of communities across the country.

&ldquo;The biggest thing that drew me to the brand was opportunity. Cheba Hut is a smaller company, which creates opportunity because you can grow with the brand rather than investing into a large corporation. Being a part of a smaller company creates a tight-knit group of individuals at both the corporate and franchisee level who are all working toward a common goal,&rdquo; said Montoya. &ldquo;And to be honest, part of what attracted me to Cheba Hut is the fact that it&rsquo;s a more affordable brand to roll with. It&rsquo;s not that we have cheap people, but because we&rsquo;re small, the investment level is more affordable.&rdquo;

Franchisees interested in becoming Cheba Hut franchisees can expect their initial investment to range from $336,000 to $678,000. Aspiring franchisees who want to be area developers with three franchises, on the other hand, can expect their initial investments to fall between $977,000 and $2,003,000, including a $135,260 to $137,000 franchise fee.

By making that investment, franchisees like Montoya gain access to a variety of competitive advantages, including initial and ongoing training, a strong support team and access to a close-knit network of franchisees who leave the lines of communication open to share best practices and tips for success. Cheba Hut franchisees are also able to tap into the brand&rsquo;s unique positioning in the marketplace that includes its explicitly marijuana-themed branding.

For franchisees who are just breaking into the brand &mdash; or the franchising industry in general &mdash; Montoya recommends taking full advantage of those perks and starting things off at full speed.

&ldquo;I think my advice would be to go all in. That&rsquo;s the biggest thing &mdash; this is a brand with a great product and great atmosphere, and it&rsquo;s worth it to dive in and embrace it all,&rdquo; Montoya said. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t hold back on anything. If you can, I&rsquo;d recommend investing in multiple locations. In my experience, I&rsquo;ve found that it&rsquo;s easier to manage multiple locations from an operations and marketing standpoint. Especially in a city as big as Albuquerque &mdash; you need multiple locations to make the Cheba Hut name known.&rdquo;

As Cheba Hut continues to cast a wider net and establish itself as a leading player in the sandwich segment of the restaurant franchising industry, Montoya is eager to continue growing alongside the brand. While it may have a reputation for serving the best &ldquo;toasted&rdquo; subs, Montoya says that Cheba Hut&rsquo;s marijuana-themed marketing isn&rsquo;t anything to be overlooked.

He said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not just a bunch of Joe Schmoe stoners. There&rsquo;s a bit of that stigma that comes with our brand, but it&rsquo;s not the case. We&rsquo;re real players in the world of business. We&rsquo;re not doing anything outside of what everyone else is trying to do &mdash; make good food and deliver the best possible product to our customers every day.&rdquo;

Employee Turned Franchisee Grows Alongside Cheba Hut in Albuquerque, New Mexico

1851 Franchise

Isaac Montoya is seeing success as a Cheba Hut franchisee by capitalizing on the brand’s quality food, unique branding and growth potential.

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