SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · KANSAS
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Kansas: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Kansas have taken 8 SBA loans in the FY1991–present FOIA files (average $329,112). Fewer than 30 of them were approved through FY2020 and have resolved, so no local loss ratio is published. Tropical Smoothie Cafe's national ratio is 0.8× (not clearly different from 1.0×). Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 15 franchised outlets in Kansas (fiscal 2025) — about 0.51 per 100k residents.
Loans in KS
8
Charged off (all years)
0 of 4
Loss ratio in KS
—
Loss ratio nationally (not clear)
0.8×
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = KS. Loss ratio = charge-offs among loans approved through FY2020 ÷ the charge-offs expected if each had defaulted at the national rate for franchise loans approved the same year; 1.0× is the same. Only charged-off and paid-in-full loans count. A ratio is shown at 30+ such loans; “not clear” marks a ratio chance alone could produce. The all-years count mixes every era and is evidence, not a rate to compare. Borrowers are matched to the brand by name and SBA franchise code; some matches may be wrong or missing.
Businesses in this industry
4,984
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
167.8
national 179.9
Versus the country
-7%
thinner
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in Kansas — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across the brand-state cells in the loan data, denser markets have historically charged off less often than the thinnest (see the research page). A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$433
Kansas, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-19%
cheaper to staff
What Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry actually pays workers in Kansas, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This cost signal is independent of the FDD: a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 1 | — |
| 2023 | 13 | — |
| 2024 | 14 | — |
| 2025 | 15 | — |
| System | Loans in KS | Charged off (all years) | Loss ratio in KS | Units in KS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Goodcents Subs & Pastas | 73 | 8 of 61 | 0.9×NOT CLEAR | — |
| DAIRY QUEEN | 64 | 5 of 52 | 0.7×NOT CLEAR | — |
| Subway | 46 | 3 of 39 | 0.5×NOT CLEAR | 194 |
| Domino's Pizza | 33 | 4 of 22 | — | — |
| SCOOTER'S COFFEE | 22 | 0 of 11 | — | 76 |
| Quiznos | 19 | 4 of 16 | — | — |
| Papa Murphy'S | 18 | 1 of 16 | — | — |
| Culver's | 13 | 0 of 9 | — | — |
| IHOP | 13 | 0 of 9 | — | 28 |
| Blimpie | 12 | 3 of 10 | — | — |
| Jimmy John's | 12 | 0 of 8 | — | — |
| Sonic Drive-In | 12 | 1 of 10 | — | — |
Other systems in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's sector whose franchisees borrowed in Kansas. A loss ratio appears only where at least 30 loans approved through FY2020 have resolved; “—” means too few.
A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.