Rose Taylor and Steven VanCauwenbergh were fans of Cheba Hut long before they became franchisees. Now, through their franchise group WGT Concepts LLC, the Oklahoma City-based entrepreneurs have signed an eight-unit area development agreement with the counter-culture sandwich brand, backing a multi-year expansion across the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets that ranks as one of the more significant single-state franchise commitments in Cheba Hut’s recent history.
The agreement, announced November 6, was not their first step in the state. WGT Concepts already operated a Cheba Hut in Oklahoma City before the deal was formalized, a location that the brand says quickly became one of its top-performing restaurants. Two more units followed in rapid succession: an Edmond shop that opened August 31 and a Norman location that debuted November 5. The agreement extends the build-out into the Tulsa market starting in 2027, with the remaining units to follow on a schedule that stretches across several years.
The Oklahoma commitment is a portrait of how Cheba Hut, which has grown to 75 locations nationwide — 73 of them franchised, according to data from Cheba Hut’s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document as analyzed by Peersense — prefers to expand: through proven operators who have already demonstrated market fit before scaling. Taylor and VanCauwenbergh bring backgrounds in accounting, hospitality, operations, and multi-business ownership, running enterprises across the restaurant, professional services, and investment sectors alongside their WGT Concepts franchise work…