SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · LOUISIANA
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Louisiana: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Louisiana have taken 14 SBA loans in the FY1991–present FOIA files (average $398,350). 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 18 franchised outlets in Louisiana (fiscal 2025) — about 0.39 per 100k residents.
Loans in LA
14
Charged off (all years)
1 of 2
Loss ratio in LA
—
Loss ratio nationally (not clear)
0.8×
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = LA. 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
7,823
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
170.1
national 179.9
Versus the country
-5%
thinner
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in Louisiana — 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
Louisiana, 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 Louisiana, 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 | 3 | — |
| 2014 | 4 | — |
| 2015 | 3 | — |
| 2023 | 15 | — |
| 2024 | 16 | — |
| 2025 | 18 | — |
| System | Loans in LA | Charged off (all years) | Loss ratio in LA | Units in LA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subway | 97 | 6 of 80 | 0.4× | 378 |
| Smoothie King | 65 | 1 of 47 | 0.1× | — |
| Quiznos | 45 | 12 of 39 | 1.2×NOT CLEAR | — |
| Baskin-Robbins | 21 | 5 of 14 | — | — |
| Jimmy John's | 19 | 0 of 13 | — | — |
| Wow Cafe & Wingery | 19 | 9 of 18 | — | — |
| DAIRY QUEEN | 15 | 3 of 10 | — | — |
| Firehouse Subs | 13 | 0 of 7 | — | 13 |
| Sonic Drive-In | 13 | 1 of 13 | — | — |
| Wingstop | 13 | 1 of 13 | — | 46 |
| Schlotzsky'S | 12 | 0 of 10 | — | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 10 | 1 of 10 | — | — |
Other systems in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's sector whose franchisees borrowed in Louisiana. 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.