Cheba Hut Franchisee Brings Vegas Fast Casual SkinnyFATS to DTC

"I started going out to eat at SkinnyFATS in Vegas years ago, and I fell in love with the idea of a split menu," says David Timmons, co-owner of franchise group Elevated Inc. "It's half healthy and half happy — what's more Colorado than that? Here you'll go climb a fourteener, then come back and drink twelve IPAs."

Now, Timmons and Kyle Archer have brought the brand to Colorado with a location that kicked off its soft opening at 7795 East Belleview Avenue on October 23.

Before this new venture, Elevated Inc. had focused on opening Cheba Hut locations for the past thirteen years — it currently owns sixteen in Colorado and four in Las Vegas. "We wanted to diversify a little and get into something new, but it was going to take something pretty special," Timmons says.

And that's exactly what he says he found in SkinnyFATS, which was founded a decade ago in Vegas by Reed Allen Slobusky, who grew up in Colorado; the fast-casual concept brands itself as a "space for all." The Denver Tech Center location is decked out with murals by artist Donovan Fitzgerald, who has done similar work at all of the SkinnyFATS locations in Nevada and Utah. It also has a patio as well as an indoor/outdoor bar and a large wooden "drip" table for community seating.

This week, it's open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, but starting Monday, October 30, it will move to its full hours, 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. "I love all the different day parts," Timmons explains, noting that SkinnyFATS serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The extensive menu includes shareables, bowls, tacos, sandwiches, burgers and more. Timmons's favorites include his former go-to, the Two Turnip Taco, made with steak, pico, jicama, cilantro and habanero lime crema; the Pokechos (ahi poke salad over fried wonton chips); the Chicks on Broadway sandwich, with breaded chicken and bacon; and the Sweet Cheese Us, the brand's version of a cheesesteak.

Another standout is the banana pudding for dessert. "It's awesome. ... I just fell in love with the food. It's fast-casual, but there's a full-on kitchen back there," he says. "There are as many happy options as there are healthy ones, and it's not just salads for the healthy options."

The owners will soon add more Colorado SkinnyFATS outposts. Next year, they'll open one in the former home of Lazy Dog Bar & Grill at 1364 Pearl Street in Boulder. Plans are also being finalized for a location off I-25 and 104th Avenue in Westminster.

"We're looking for more, and we'll be growing in Vegas, as well," Timmons says. But for now, "we're excited to see how the brand does here."