It’s late on a weeknight and you’ve just smoked a bowl or done a dab. You have the munchies.
What do you do when you’re craving good food, but everyplace that delivers is closed?
Zach Neil created Muncheechos to solve this dilemma.
The chef and serial entrepreneur came up with the idea for a food delivery business for late-night stoners. What’s a brand without a face, though? As a celebrity with existing brands and wide appeal in the cannabis community, Cheech Marin was shrewd casting.
“They wanted the perfect guy to advertise late night, groovy food.” Cheech told Profiles in Legalization, during a recent phone interview.
As half of the stoner comedy duo, Cheech & Chong, Marin’s been a staple of the cannabis counterculture for nearly half a century. He’s better positioned for cannabis-themed branding than most celebrities. In addition to numerous business ventures with Tommy Chong, Cheech already boasts his own lines of branded smoking pieces, Cheech Glass, and cannabis products, Cheech’s Private Stash.
“With the pandemic, you want to go out, but it’s tough to get into some places. So if you can order from them and have them deliver, Yay! Progress.”
Cheech Marin
Cheech told Profiles that Neil approached him with the idea for delivery-only stoner food and he liked the sound of it. What makes Muncheechos different from other food delivery in the age of Uber Eats is late-night availability. They boast hot food straight to your door until 3am.
“A lot of places aren’t open that late,” Cheech told us, “and that’s our drawing point. We are, and we’ll get it to you quick and still hot.”
Virtual brands and ghost kitchens
Muncheechos is adapting to the new pandemic world by being a completely virtual brand. There is a menu and a feel, but no physical location to go along with it. Instead, the food is prepared in what are known as “ghost kitchens.”
Read More: Tommy Chong: Don’t treat cannabis like alcohol
Delivery-only businesses rent kitchen space from restaurants to cut down on costs. These ghost kitchens operate out of locations for days or weeks at a time, but can be easily moved. Restaurants benefit by keeping kitchens in use even when indoor dining is closed or curtailed. People like Neil use kitchens like these to keep delivery services with eclectic tastes thriving.
Cheech stressed how Muncheechos solves some of the problems of today’s complex world.
“With the pandemic, you want to go out,” Marin said, “but it’s tough to get into some places. So if you can order from them and have them deliver… Yay! Progress.”
The early menu is weed-themed, but it doesn’t sacrifice quality. For more health conscience stoners, there are vegan options like the “Hippie Chix”; chopped kale and romaine lettuce, grilled vegan chicken, blistered corn, hemp seeds, pickled jalapenos and vegan southwest ranch. A Sweets section features choices as simple as “huge” cookies and kettle corn.
The menu caters to cannabis consumers, but the food isn’t cannabis-infused.
You can follow @Muncheechos on Instagram or visit their website at Muncheechos.com.
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