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

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 Cheba Hut, he presented Beatty with the numbers and said “Talk me out of this.” After reviewing the investment level and Cheba Hut’s performance, however, Beatty came back to Burdick and said, “I don’t think I can.”

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 “munchies.” A focus on hospitality and great food 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’s journey to multi-unit Cheba Hut franchisee began long ago, when he first cut his teeth in the service industry.

“I took my first restaurant job at age 15 making pizza dough and have been in restaurants in some capacity ever since,” Beatty said. “I discovered and cultivated a passion for bartending and bar culture in my early 20’s and have maintained that focus ever since.”

In addition to a passion for spirits, Beatty also boasts a love of travel.

“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,” 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.

“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,” Beatty said. “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.”

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.

“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’s core group, but there’s also a lot of room to diversify the Cheba Hut customer base here in Atlanta,” Beatty explained. “[A cannabis concept] works in the areas we’re targeting, but Atlanta is also a taco burger town; there’s not a lot of top-tier sandwich options, so something like Cheba Hut is definitely something that works really well.”

In addition to a culture and an offering that Beatty knew would connect well with the Atlanta target demographic, Cheba Hut’s brand also appeals to franchisees who want to make sure their individuality doesn’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.

“That’s why we love Cheba Hut, because they’re very much proponents of ‘make it your own.’ They want us to be us and bring what we bring,” Beatty said.

And what Beatty and Burdick have planned for their three Atlanta Cheba Hut locations is, indeed, something special.

Lifting from Beatty’s bartending and hospitality experience, and Burdick’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.

“I’m the beverage guy and I wanna run a crazy bar program with local beers,” said Beatty of the duo’s vision. “I have a lot of connection to local breweries, so I’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.”

“We’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,” Beatty said.

Beatty further elaborated on the innovative aspect of their approach by speaking to the opportunity for “third-meal” appeal.

“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—places that are typically open later—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,” Beatty explained.

Seth Larsen, Cheba Hut’s chief relationship officer, said that he’s excited to see what Beatty and Burdick have planned for Atlanta.

“Justin and Josh are both creative and people-focused—they’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,” Larsen said. “They’re also excited to bring their passions into the space and create a place guests won’t want to leave, and that hospitality mindset is what we’re all about. That’s Cheba culture and then some.”

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’s work community, Beatty emphasized.

“We want to create a place where people want to work. That’s how you make good guest connections and make your community happy,” said Beatty.

So should corporate leadership expect great things from this Atlanta duo’s toasted trifecta? Absolutely, said Beatty.

“We think we can blow Cheba Hut Corporate’s mind with what we can do here, and what’s possible. I think, with the areas we’re targeting, it’s gonna blow up in a big way,” said Beatty. “We’re excited to bring that approach to the brand, and have that as something future franchisees can turn to.”