World's Largest Chee-to

1515 N McCoy St, Algona, Iowa 50511 USA

Independent

“if you love cheese. . .”

It's believed to be the largest Chee-to in the world. The cheesy glob of fried cornmeal that Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans found last week in a bag of the snacks is about the size of a small lemon and weighs in at about half an ounce. Evans, 41, a fervent user of online auctions, posted his find on eBay. He never expected the flurry of attention that followed. Radio stations from around the country interviewed Evans, a Gulf War veteran stationed in Pearl Harbor who patiently explained that he bought the bag of Chee-tos for his 3-year-old son. Giant Chee-to T-shirts and Chee-to puppet auctions sprung up online. And pranksters bid up the Chee-to into the millions of dollars -- so much that eBay cancelled the sale and a frustrated Evans donated the Chee-to to a good cause: a sleepy farming community in Iowa. "I was absolutely astounded that something like a Chee-to could become a pop icon," said Evans. "It's international. I've even seen it online on a Russian site."

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Reviewed by
kristaqm

8 Reviews
10 Helpful

June 09, 2014

The Chee-to is looking pretty old and gross. It sits on a purple velvet pillow in a glass case, set in a random corner by the kitchen in Emerald's restaurant. Kind of sad. But kind of funny too. It took the waitress a couple seconds to even know what we were talking about when we told her we were there to see the Chee-to. We didn't stay to eat, we just took pictures and left. I'd say don't go out of your way to see it, but if you're driving through, it's worth the 5 minutes, just to say you saw it. Definitely weird and random and provided a good laugh.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
ashleyweil

1 Review
0 Helpful

July 11, 2021

Closed Sunday ;(

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Reviewed by
bigfamily-

2 Reviews
0 Helpful

June 13, 2019

Rated 5.0

So funny!
It is inside Emeralds - the waitress laughed when I asked if it was there. It’s sits around the corner under covered glass.
If your coming down Hwy 18, you might as well stop to say you saw it!

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Reviewed by
DanielBaxter

1 Review
0 Helpful

October 22, 2014

Rated 5.0

The Chee-to got us in the doors of the restaurant, and both impressed us. It was more humorous than anything seeing an eleven year old Chee-to. Emerald's was very good, reasonably priced with a great atmosphere and friendly staff. Highly recommend stopping in for both the food and novelty Chee-to.

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