SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ILLINOIS
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Illinois: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Illinois have taken 15 SBA loans since 1991 (average $321,280)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 10.7% is the better guide. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 68 franchised outlets in Illinois (fiscal 2025) — about 0.54 per 100k residents.
Loans in IL
15
Resolved
8
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
10.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = IL. 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 of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
23,167
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
182.3
national 179.9
Versus the country
+1%
denser
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in Illinois — 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 | 5 | — |
| 2014 | 6 | — |
| 2015 | 6 | — |
| 2023 | 55 | — |
| 2024 | 61 | — |
| 2025 | 68 | — |
| System | Loans in IL | Local charge-off | Units in IL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culver's | 139 | 2.3% | — |
| Quiznos | 130 | 30.4% | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 124 | 2.3% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 92 | 2.7% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 47 | 11.8% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 43 | 42.4% | — |
| Rosati'S Pizza | 36 | 4.8% | — |
| SCOOTER'S COFFEE | 30 | thin | 48 |
| Smoothie King (Health Food Store) | 29 | 0.0% | — |
| Jersey Mike's Subs | 28 | 0.0% | — |
| Papa Johns | 28 | 9.1% | — |
| Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream | 25 | 4.5% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Tropical Smoothie Cafe compares to the systems a buyer in Illinois would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
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