SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · FLORIDA
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Florida: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Florida have taken 96 SBA loans since 1991 (average $350,022), and of the 59 loans whose story has ended, 18.6% were charged off — versus 10.7% for Tropical Smoothie Cafe nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 217 franchised outlets in Florida (fiscal 2025) — about 0.93 per 100k residents.
Loans in FL
96
Resolved
59
Local charge-off
18.6%
National charge-off
10.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = FL. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor.
Businesses in this industry
38,729
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
165.7
national 179.9
Versus the country
-8%
thinner
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in Florida — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 112 | — |
| 2014 | 118 | — |
| 2015 | 126 | — |
| 2023 | 205 | — |
| 2024 | 215 | — |
| 2025 | 217 | — |
| System | Loans in FL | Local charge-off | Units in FL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiznos | 163 | 40.7% | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 155 | 8.9% | — |
| Culver's | 113 | 0.0% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 91 | 6.1% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 86 | 26.3% | — |
| Smoothie King (Health Food Store) | 74 | 14.6% | — |
| Zaxby's | 74 | 2.0% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 65 | 14.3% | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 64 | 38.6% | — |
| Marco's Pizza | 61 | 8.3% | — |
| Planet Smoothie | 42 | 16.1% | — |
| Miami Subs (Formerly Mr Submarine) | 41 | 29.4% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Tropical Smoothie Cafe compares to the systems a buyer in Florida would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Tropical Smoothie Cafe's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →