1851

When Atlanta-based entertainment lawyer Josh Burdick approached his friend and hospitality veteran Justin Beatty about the prospect of signing on with toasted sandwich franchise<a href="https://franchise.chebahut.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=music-brews-and-great-food-how-two-friends-turned-franchisees-plan-to-turn-their-atlanta-georgia-cheba-hut-locations-into-your-new-favorite-hangout-2709722" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"> Cheba Hut</a>, he presented Beatty with the numbers and said &ldquo;Talk me out of this.&rdquo; After reviewing the investment level and<a href="https://1851franchise.com/chebahut" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"> Cheba Hut</a>&rsquo;s performance, however, Beatty came back to Burdick and said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I can.&rdquo;

Toasted sandwich concept Cheba Hut has been serving up chill vibes and delicious dishes ever since its founding in Tempe, Arizona 21 years ago. The brand boasts cannabis-themed (but marijuana-free) offerings ranging from subs to sides to aptly named &ldquo;munchies.&rdquo;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/chebahut/all-of-the-flavor-none-of-the-judgement-toasted-sub-concept-cheba-hut-still-serving-good-vibes-after-21-years-2709142#mostRecent" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"> A focus on hospitality and great food</a> led to steady growth and a strong fanbase that has fallen in love with the chillout-and-eat-up brand culture.

The feel-good franchise certainly won over Burdick and Beatty; the two decided to go into business together and signed a three-unit deal that will introduce Cheba Hut to the Atlanta, Georgia market, officially making the formerly West Coast concept into a national franchise. Their three locations are all slated to open in Fall 2019 and will serve Midtown, West Midtown, Reynoldstown, Summerhill, Edgewood, O4W, Georgia Tech and the Georgia State areas.

Beatty&rsquo;s journey to multi-unit Cheba Hut franchisee began long ago, when he first cut his teeth in the service industry.

&ldquo;I took my first restaurant job at age 15 making pizza dough and have been in restaurants in some capacity ever since,&rdquo; Beatty said. &ldquo;I discovered and cultivated a passion for bartending and bar culture in my early 20&rsquo;s and have maintained that focus ever since.&rdquo;

In addition to a passion for spirits, Beatty also boasts a love of travel.

&ldquo;A sense of wanderlust and exploration kept me on the move for many years. I have called Las Vegas, Tokyo, Seattle, Tucson, Chicago and Atlanta home and have been influenced by all in some way,&rdquo; Beatty said.

Currently, Beatty works as the beverage manager for Fifth Group Restaurants, a leading hospitality group in Atlanta. For Beatty, travel, food, drink, and people all go together; an adventurous spirit and epicurean tastes together combined to lead Beatty to the Atlanta Cheba Hut opportunity.

&ldquo;My deep and abiding love of restaurant culture and genuine desire to facilitate meaningful and memorable experiences to guests through food, beverage, ambience, and service are my guideposts as Josh and I embark on the journey of ownership,&rdquo; Beatty said. &ldquo;Cheba Hut provides a unique and exciting culture with a philosophy that matches my own, and Atlanta is ready to embrace the concept and take this exciting brand to the national stage.&rdquo;

When asked if he would have signed on with another restaurant brand, Beatty was emphatic, saying that Burdick and he went with Cheba Hut specifically, as the franchise checked all their boxes for the Atlanta market.

&ldquo;We both agreed that the Cheba Hut brand was a perfect fit, especially for the areas we were targeting, because the demographic fits neatly in with the brand&rsquo;s core group, but there&rsquo;s also a lot of room to diversify the Cheba Hut customer base here in Atlanta,&rdquo; Beatty explained. &ldquo;[A cannabis concept] works in the areas we&rsquo;re targeting, but Atlanta is also a taco burger town; there&rsquo;s not a lot of top-tier sandwich options, so something like Cheba Hut is definitely something that works really well.&rdquo;

In addition to a culture and an offering that Beatty knew would connect well with the Atlanta target demographic, Cheba Hut&rsquo;s brand also appeals to franchisees who want to make sure their individuality doesn&rsquo;t fall by the wayside. Said another way: the toasted sub concept is community-focused in such a way as to invite, rather than take issue with, creative community engagement initiatives.

&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we love Cheba Hut, because they&rsquo;re very much proponents of &lsquo;make it your own.&rsquo; They want us to be us and bring what we bring,&rdquo; Beatty said.

And what Beatty and Burdick have planned for their three Atlanta Cheba Hut locations is, indeed, something special.

Lifting from Beatty&rsquo;s bartending and hospitality experience, and Burdick&rsquo;s music industry connections garnered through his work as an entertainment lawyer, the pair plan to build their Cheba Hut locations into mainstays of the music and culture landscape in the city.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the beverage guy and I wanna run a crazy bar program with local beers,&rdquo; said Beatty of the duo&rsquo;s vision. &ldquo;I have a lot of connection to local breweries, so I&rsquo;m going to drive that hard, but also keep an eye on innovation, like on-tap wine and on the food side too. I just want creative options.&rdquo;

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking to tie into the local music scene here. We want to have Cheba Hut be a hub for music, or as a hangout spot, or as both. The demographic here is ready for that,&rdquo; Beatty said.

Beatty further elaborated on the innovative aspect of their approach by speaking to the opportunity for &ldquo;third-meal&rdquo; appeal.

&ldquo;A third-meal [offering] has been dabbled with at other Cheba Hut locations, but because both of us come from more high-end bar and entertainment backgrounds&mdash;places that are typically open later&mdash;we wanted to create that revenue stream and bring in new guests. We know that we can be both a top lunch spot and a high-demand nighttime spot, too,&rdquo; Beatty explained.

Seth Larsen, Cheba Hut&rsquo;s chief relationship officer, said that he&rsquo;s excited to see what Beatty and Burdick have planned for Atlanta.

&ldquo;Justin and Josh are both creative and people-focused&mdash;they&rsquo;re passionate about bringing guests an inviting atmosphere, craveable food and an above-and-beyond service experience, all of which is central to the Cheba Hut brand,&rdquo; Larsen said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re also excited to bring their passions into the space and create a place guests won&rsquo;t want to leave, and that hospitality mindset is what we&rsquo;re all about. That&rsquo;s Cheba culture and then some.&rdquo;

Beatty shared that the two plan to partner with Giving Kitchen in Atlanta, an organization the provides support to hourly hospitality employees should they be faced with unexpected medical leave. Caring for the community at large should be an extension of caring for one&rsquo;s work community, Beatty emphasized.

&ldquo;We want to create a place where people want to work. That&rsquo;s how you make good guest connections and make your community happy,&rdquo; said Beatty.

So should corporate leadership expect great things from this Atlanta duo&rsquo;s toasted trifecta? Absolutely, said Beatty.

&ldquo;We think we can blow Cheba Hut Corporate&rsquo;s mind with what we can do here, and what&rsquo;s possible. I think, with the areas we&rsquo;re targeting, it&rsquo;s gonna blow up in a big way,&rdquo; said Beatty. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited to bring that approach to the brand, and have that as something future franchisees can turn to.&rdquo;

<div>&nbsp;</div>

Music, Brews and Great Food: How Two Friends-Turned-Franchisees Plan to Turn their Atlanta, Georgia Cheba Hut Locations Into Your New Favorite Hangout

1851 Franchise

Justin Beatty and Josh Burdick recently signed on as new franchisees with toasted sub concept Cheba Hut, making the historically West Coast brand truly national.


This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

music-brews-and-great-food-how-two-friends-turned-franchisees-plan-to-turn-their-atlanta-georgia-cheba-hut-locations-into-your-new-favorite-hangout

HomeTeam Inspection Service

Good Day Columbus: Home Insurance Expert Reveals Why Central Ohio Premiums Are Rising and How to Combat Costs

rising-home-insurance-costs-ohio

CapitalSpring

Primetime Fitness Expands Crunch Portfolio With CapitalSpring’s Backing

primetime-fitness-expands-crunch-portfolio-with-capitalsprings-backing

Children's Lighthouse

How Children’s Lighthouse Franchisees Scale to Multiple Locations

how-childrens-lighthouse-franchisees-scale-to-multiple-locations

Express Employment Professionals

Betting on Himself: How Chris Brown Built an Express Employment Professionals Franchise From the Ground Up

betting-on-himself-how-chris-brown-built-an-express-employment-professionals-franchise-from-the-ground-up

Comfort Keepers

Comfort Keepers® Named One of America’s Best Home-Care Providers

comfort-keepers-named-one-of-americas-best-home-care-providers

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Potbelly to be Acquired by RaceTrac in $566 Million Deal 

racetrac-acquires-potbelly-in-566-million-deal

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities - 1851 Franchise Agg

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities 

health-care-hiring-slowdown-in-home-care-franchise-opportunities

Caribou Coffee Names Scott Kennedy CEO, Eyes Continued Growth

caribou-coffee-names-scott-kennedy-ceo-eyes-continued-growth

McDonald’s Launches New Extra Value Meals as Consumer Demand for Value Continues to Climb

mcdonalds-launches-extra-value-meals

Power Eats: Smoothie King Rolls Out Food Nationwide To Fuel Franchise Growth

smoothie-king-food-menu-power-eats

Hely and Hiral Patel Bring Their Longtime Dream to Life With The Brass Tap

brass-tap-franchise-pasadena-maryland-hely-hiral-patel

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ricki Oberoi and Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

Multi-Unit Wendy’s Operator Signs 12-Unit Deal With Layne’s Chicken Fingers

ricki-oberoi-laynes-chicken-fingers-growth

graphic image of an 1851 franchisee spotlight brayden and johnny steven of teriyaki madness

Father-and-Daughter Team Bring Teriyaki Madness to Wichita, Kansas, With Big Expansion Plans

johnny-brayden-steven-teriyaki-madness-wichita

Young Entrepreneur Parth Patel Is Bringing Paris Baguette to the Cleveland Area

young-entrepreneur-parth-patel-is-bringing-paris-baguette-to-the-cleveland-area

DevHub - Meet the Supplier - 1851 Franchise

DevHub: Scalable Digital Marketing for Franchises and Multi-Location Brands

devhub-meet-the-supplier

1851 Keyword - The Secret To Succeeding With a Part-Time Franchise Is Picking the Right Model

The Secret To Succeeding With a Part-Time Franchise Is Picking the Right Model

part-time-franchises-picking-the-right-model

Design with school-aged child standing on pencil with text "Education Franchises" and "<$500K"

Top Education Franchises Under $500K To Explore in 2025

top-education-franchises-under-500k

1851 Franchise Deep Dive graphic with Sparkle Squad logo

Sparkle Squad Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

franchise-deep-dive-sparkle-squad-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data

Music, Brews and Great Food: How Two Friends-Turned-Franchisees Plan to Turn their Atlanta, Georgia Cheba Hut Locations Into Your New Favorite Hangout

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS