Tropical Smoothie Cafe is battling it out for business in the DFW area
If you start seeing a bunch of Tropical Smoothie Cafes opening all over Dallas-Fort Worth, that’s not a coincidence.
It’s because in the past few years, the Atlanta-based franchise company has been making a concentrated and aggressive effort to expand its business in DFW. The first one in the area opened in 2015 and since then, 11 more have popped up, including its 700th in Hurst. This year alone, Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans to open four more locations in the area by the end of this year. Overall, there are 750 locations in 44 states.
“The state of Texas is a business-friendly environment, said Charles Watson, the CEO of Tropical Smoothie Cafe. “The economic growth, the demographics of the DFW area is obviously a good thing for the brand.”
Tropical Smoothie Cafe brands itself as a health-conscious quick casual restaurant chain. In addition to smoothies, it offers flatbreads, sandwiches, wraps and salads. In total, 60 percent of the business is smoothies while the remaining 40 percent is food.
While there are many other fast-casual restaurants that are moving onto the health-conscious trend (think Freshii and Salata), there are three big names in the smoothie market: Jamba Juice, Smoothie King and Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Jamba Juice has been headquartered in Frisco since 2016, and just last year Smoothie King announced it was relocating to Coppell.
“The state of Texas is a bit of a battleground” when it comes to smoothie dominance, Watson said.
As part of its aggressive push in the metroplex, Watson plans to host a meet and greet event on April 16 at its location in Hurst, 760 Airport Freeway. The event is an opportunity for those interested to learn more about franchising the brand.
“There are many opportunities for local entrepreneurs to build on the existing momentum in the local Dallas-Fort Worth market, and we’re looking forward to meeting with them in person,” Watson said.
This story was originally published April 8, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
