Tropical Smoothie Café is planning to add 15 new locations in Charlotte, North Carolina. This follows a period of healthy growth for the chain in which 40 restaurants were opened across the country and the chain’s same store sales increased by 6.4 percent last year. The franchise chain has identified Charlotte as a key growth market after former Carolina Panther Everette Brown, who currently plays for the Dallas Cowboys, opened the city's first location in November 2013. "Growing our presence in Charlotte is Tropical Smoothie Café's No. 1 priority right now," said CEO Mike Rotondo. "Demand for healthier, convenient food is too high here and our restaurants in neighboring markets are too strong for us not to have a larger footprint in Charlotte." The company is seeking franchise partners to develop the neighborhoods in and around Charlotte. Other areas in North Carolina to be developed include Fayetteville, Asheville, Boone, Elizabeth City, Hickory and Highpoint. Last year, Tropical Smoothie Café signed an agreement with Cary, North Carolina-based Sherman Dye to develop ten locations in Raleigh. The first location opened in mid-April in Cary. Tropical Smoothie Café currently has eleven locations open and another 21 franchises signed or under development in the state. The company will open 55 restaurants throughout the country this year. The quick casual restaurant concept currently has about 365 locations nationwide with over 150 being in the East Coast region. The units serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, including smoothies, salads, wraps, sandwiches, flatbreads, etc.
CATEGORY: Quick Casual
Chain Name: Tropical Smoothie Café
Company Name: Tropical Smoothie Café LLC
Street Address: 1117 Perimeter Center West., Suite W200, Atlanta, Georgia 30338
Tel: 770/821-1900 Fax:
Email: info@tropicalsmoothie.com Website: www.tropicalsmoothie.com
Menu Specialty: Menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, including smoothies, salads, wraps, sandwiches, flatbreads, etc. No baking, fryers or hoods. Uses only high powered blenders and convection ovens.
Introduced: Founded in 1997 with a location in Destin, Florida and the first franchise opened in Tallahassee, Florida in 1998.
No. of Locations: Over 365 in over 36 states. Growing at a rate of twelve percent per year, about 40 new cafes per year.
Areas of Operation: National
Types of Location:
BusinessType (corp., franchise, jv):
Size Req’d: 1200 to 1600 sq.ft.
Special Requirements (patio, drive-thru, etc):
Contact Name: Mike Rotondo – CEO
Lisa Wenda – Chief Marketing Officer
Charles Watson – Vice President, Development
Gregg Kocenko – Sen Director, Real Estate (gkocenko@tropicalsmoothie.com)
Tim Tanguay – Vice President, Finance
Kathy Benzing – Director Franchise Development, Sales (kbenzing@tropicalsmoothie.com)
Robin Willis – Vice President, Organizational Service
Kate Murr – Brand Marketing Manager
REAL ESTATE REPRESENTATIVES:
FRANCHISE REPRESENTATIVES:
PARENT COMPANY: Tropical Smoothie Café LLC, Atlanta, Georgia
Related Chains:
Last Report: Restaurant & QSR Expansion Report #116 Last Update:
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