Cheba Hut is expanding its San Antonio footprint for a third time, with a new location under construction on UTSA Boulevard near the University of Texas at San Antonio. The cannabis-themed toasted sub chain, known for menu items named after marijuana strains, is targeting an early 2027 opening for the shop, which will sit near Six Flags, La Cantera and The Rim.
The new outpost is part of MySA's report on the chain's growth in the city, and it lands inside The Merc, a mixed-use development taking shape at 5730 UTSA Boulevard. The Merc is a $350 million, 112-acre project from California-based developer Schumacher Interests, according to KSAT, with Phase I construction having started in late 2025.
Local franchisee group Briast LLC, owned by Bria Lattimore and Steve Bales, now owns all three San Antonio Cheba Hut locations. The company opened its first San Antonio shop on Alamo Ranch Parkway in 2021, then added a second location off Loop 1604 and Redland Road in 2023, per the same MySA report. Flip Aubrey, general manager of both the new UTSA outpost and the Redland Plaza location, said Cheba Hut looks forward to serving the UTSA area and surrounding communities.
A University Corridor Built for Growth
The timing lines up with UTSA's own expansion. The university recorded a historic preliminary enrollment of more than 38,200 students for the Fall 2025 semester, a 7% year-over-year jump, according to UT San Antonio Today. That marks three straight years of record fall enrollment growth for the school, whose campus sits directly along the UTSA Boulevard corridor where the new sandwich shop is rising.
Cheba Hut has built its business around exactly this kind of university-adjacent market since its founding. The chain launched in 1998 near Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, started by Scott Jennings, and is now headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, with more than 70 locations spread across 16 states, according to PHOENIX magazine. The brand's toasted subs carry names pulled from cannabis strains and marijuana culture, including “Jamaican Red,” “Silver Haze” and “AK-47,” though the food itself does not contain marijuana and won't get customers high.
Beer, Subs and a Bigger Retail Neighborhood
Beyond the sandwiches, most Cheba Hut locations run full-service craft beer bars and signature cocktails, a model that generates roughly 35% of total company sales after 4 p.m., according to 1851 Franchise. That late-night bar business, paired with vegetarian options on the sandwich menu, has helped the chain stand apart from typical fast-casual sub shops.
The new location will have plenty of company once it opens. Phase I of The Merc includes 35,000 square feet of retail space across three buildings slated for completion in late summer 2026, with a technology-forward sushi concept from the family behind Wild Goji Sushi already announced as a co-tenant, per KSAT's reporting. The development's broader master plan calls for 1,600 apartment units, a 30-acre outdoor recreational space tied to the Leon Creek Greenway, and a boutique Aloft hotel, according to Community Impact. Residential properties like the Oxly and Lyric apartments are already up and running on the site.
Branding Clashes With Local Politics
Cheba Hut's 420-tinged branding arrives in a city where voters have shown little appetite for loosening marijuana enforcement. San Antonio residents rejected Proposition A in May 2023 by a lopsided 71.6% to 28.4% margin, according to Ballotpedia, defeating a charter amendment that would have barred police from arresting or citing people for possessing under four ounces of marijuana. The measure had drawn opposition from local business groups and police union leadership.
Still, that political backdrop hasn't slowed the chain's momentum in Texas. Cheba Hut filed paperwork in January for a 2,800-square-foot store on North Freeway in Fort Worth, led by franchisee Chance Steed, as Hoodline previously reported. Between the Fort Worth build-out and the third San Antonio shop now taking shape on UTSA Boulevard, the sandwich chain is betting heavily on Texas's university towns and growing suburbs to keep its munchies-friendly brand expanding.
