Aly Brown

Iowa City Press-Citizen

Buzzkill, man.

In Iowa City's latest party foul, marijuana-themed toasted sub and munchies franchise Cheba Hut shut its doors on Tuesday night.

Seth Larsen, owner of the now-defunct Iowa City location and two other franchises, said the local franchise was the worst-performing location out of Cheba Hut's 15 restaurants, and struggled to maintain a strong customer base.

Larsen described Iowa as a "polar vortex" for franchises, and said the Iowa City location was the corporation's first failure.

"Midwest is a tough market for us," he said. "It's a bummer, really."

Larsen said Cheba Hut's handful of employees were offered jobs at his restaurants in the Denver, Colo. area.

Cheba Hut founder Scott Jennings opened the first location near the Arizona State University campus. The franchise served toasted sandwiches, snacks, and drinks named for various marijuana strains.

Reach Aly Brown at 887-5404 or abrown11@press-citizen.com.