1851

<a href="https://franchise.chebahut.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=franchise-development-leader-marc-torres-of-cheba-hut-2707750" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Cheba Hut</a> COO Marc Torres started working for the brand as a Colorado State University student. Initially attending the university to pursue a degree in political science, Torres&rsquo; career took a sharp turn when he realized his passion for hospitality ran much deeper than his interest in being an attorney.

He began as a store-level employee at a Cheba Hut location in Fort Collins in 2005 when the now 20-unit chain was still getting off the ground, and by building a solid relationship with founder Scott Jennings, worked his way up through the system to become a field consultant at the corporate headquarters, then director of operations and eventually, COO.

How did you first get involved with the franchising industry?

My hospitality experience before <a href="http://1851franchise.com/chebahut" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Cheba Hut</a> involved running different restaurants, so a lot of what I&rsquo;ve learned about the industry has been on the fly. I started with Cheba Hut when I was in college. One of the most powerful things I&rsquo;ve learned is how much pressure gets put on you as a franchisor when a franchisee invests in your brand. There&rsquo;s a heavy burden that comes with that level of an investment, especially here at Cheba Hut. We take our franchisees&rsquo; investments very seriously and do whatever we can to help them be successful.

What do you love about the industry?

Interacting with our franchisees and their managers. I love watching them learn the industry, about our company, and then finding success with our model. I take a lot of pride in helping our franchisees succeed. For example, our franchisee in Albuquerque started out on a similar path as me as an employee. I&rsquo;ve watched him progress over the last three years to eventually invest in his own store. Watching our people achieve their dreams is what keeps us going.

What do you wish you could change in franchising?

The hardest thing for us is getting buy-in from franchisees on new things &ndash; whether that&rsquo;s a product launch, new design, etc. I wish there was a way for us to get immediate buy-in. The great thing about Cheba Hut is that we have company stores that we can use as test sites before taking it out to the franchisees. We want them to feel confident knowing that we&rsquo;re making decisions not just for us, but for them. Having company stores makes it a lot easier because we&rsquo;re not only making decisions that impact other people, it impacts our success as well.

What&rsquo;s the biggest change you&rsquo;ve seen in the industry since you started out in franchise development?

The increased quality of the competition. There are a lot of good concepts out there making really good food, which makes it even more difficult to differentiate yourself. We&rsquo;re really proud of our food but what really differentiates us is our culture and our people. Our employees are proud to say they work here, they&rsquo;re diehards.

What makes a great franchisee?

We look way beyond financial qualifications. Our franchisees have to live and breathe the brand. We&rsquo;re well aware that Cheba Hut is not for everyone. It&rsquo;s different, it&rsquo;s polarizing in certain markets because it&rsquo;s a marijuana-themed sandwich shop. Our franchisees need to buy into the culture which starts with our owners, franchisees and trickles down to our employees. Once they&rsquo;re bought in, that message immediately crosses the counter to the customer. We also embrace individuality at our stores. We don&rsquo;t care if people have tattoos or piercings, and our franchisees need to understand that. We&rsquo;re not looking for franchisees who hire employees that read a script, we&rsquo;re looking for people with a genuine personality who can connect with our customers on a higher level than what&rsquo;s typically expected.

What&rsquo;s the number one thing that sells franchises?

For us, we call it keeping it simple. It&rsquo;s all about our product. We have a very simple system that delivers a very high-quality product which is what&rsquo;s most attractive to our franchisees. All they really need are refrigerators and toasters. We don&rsquo;t need fryers and grills to get it done. We want the focus at the store level to be on the culture and building relationships. Our franchisees are impressed that we can have such a simple operation deliver such a high-quality product

Franchise Development Leader: Marc Torres of Cheba Hut

1851 Franchise

COO of the marijuana-themed sandwich franchise talks about why he never left the brand he started working for in college.

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

franchise-development-leader-marc-torres-of-cheba-hut

Right at Home

Image-of-Chrisy-Heiss-and-Nick-Powills-Right-at-Home-Story

Post-Acute Care Professional Turned Franchisee to Share Experience With Right at Home in Upcoming Franchise Education Webinar

right-at-home-chrisy-heiss-success

Dillas Quesadillas

The Visionaries Behind Dillas Primo Quesadillas: Meet Kyle and Maggie Gordon

dillas-quesadillas-founders-kyle-maggie-gordon

Minuteman Press International

Minuteman Press franchise owner Rob Overstreet (pictured left), San Diego, CA.

Minuteman Press Franchise Owner Rob Overstreet Comes Full Circle in San Diego

minuteman-press-franchise-owner-rob-overstreet-comes-full-circle-in-san-diego

Pigtails & Crewcuts

Pigtails and Crewcuts - Q3 Growth - Chicago Expansion - 1851 Franchise

Pigtails & Crewcuts Signs 3-Unit Deal in Chicago, Builds on Strong Q3 Growth

pigtails-crewcuts-q3-growth-chicago-expansion

Pool Scouts

How Pool Scouts Turns the “Off-Season” Into a Year-Round Advantage

how-pool-scouts-turns-the-off-season-into-a-year-round-advantage

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

Senior Entrepreneurship - Franchising - 1851 Franchise

Senior Entrepreneurship Is Rising — And Franchising Is a Key Outlet

senior-entrepreneurship-franchising-silver-startups

U.S. Government Shutdown - Impact on Franchises - 1851 Franchise

Government Shutdown Stalls SBA Loans: How the Shutdown Could Impact Franchises

government-shutdown-impacts-sba-loans-tourism-franchises

Subway Franchisees Resist Expensive Remodel Directives

subway-franchisees-resist-expensive-remodel-directives

The American Franchise Act: What It Means for Franchisors and Franchisees - 1851 Franchise

The American Franchise Act: What It Means for Franchisors and Franchisees

american-franchise-act-joint-employer-standard

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Begins Franchising To Grow Its Fellowship Model

jenis-splendid-ice-creams-begins-franchising-to-grow-its-fellowship-model

Hot Dish Advertising - Franchise Marketing - Meet the Supplier - 1851 Franchise

Hot Dish Advertising: A Proven Leader in Franchise Marketing

hot-dish-advertising-franchise-marketing

image  of Happinest franchise collection and all their brands that work together. 

The Happinest Advantage: A Marketing Partner Invested in Your Bottom Line

happinest-franchise-marketing-strategy

A Practical Playbook: Who To Call First When Franchising Your Business

franchising-your-business-who-to-call-first

Baker McKenzie: A Global Law Firm with a Leading Franchise and Brand Expansion Practice

baker-mckenzie-a-global-law-firm-with-a-leading-franchise-and-brand-expansion-practice

Top Education Franchises To Consider for 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Top Education Franchises To Consider Investing In for 2025

top-education-franchises-investment-opportunities

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

smoothie-king-food-menu-power-eats

Top Enrichment and Supplemental Education Franchises for 2025

top-enrichment-supplemental-education-franchises

Top Early Childhood Education and Child Care Franchises for 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Top Early Childhood Education and Child Care Franchises for 2025

early-childhood-education-child-care-franchises

Top Arts and Creative Learning Franchises for 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Top Arts and Creative Learning Franchises for 2025

top-arts-creative-learning-franchises

1851 Franchisee Spotlight with photo of Mike Rippey and Sola Salons logo

Franchise Development Leader: Marc Torres of Cheba Hut

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS