SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · TENNESSEE
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Tennessee: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Tennessee have taken 9 SBA loans since 1991 (average $275,255)— 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 41 franchised outlets in Tennessee (fiscal 2025) — about 0.57 per 100k residents.
Loans in TN
9
Resolved
5
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
10.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = TN. 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
12,160
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
168.2
national 179.9
Versus the country
-7%
thinner
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in Tennessee — 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.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$503
Tennessee, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-6%
cheaper to staff
What Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry actually pays workers in Tennessee, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal 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 | 2 | — |
| 2014 | 2 | — |
| 2015 | 3 | — |
| 2023 | 25 | — |
| 2024 | 33 | — |
| 2025 | 41 | — |
| System | Loans in TN | Local charge-off | Units in TN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zaxby's | 38 | 6.9% | — |
| Culver's | 20 | 0.0% | — |
| SCOOTER'S COFFEE | 20 | thin | 24 |
| Marco's Pizza | 19 | 0.0% | — |
| Schlotzsky'S | 19 | 38.9% | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 18 | 35.3% | — |
| Firehouse Subs | 18 | thin | 48 |
| Quiznos | 18 | 35.7% | — |
| Baskin-Robbins | 16 | 16.7% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 16 | 20.0% | — |
| Smoothie King | 16 | 30.0% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 15 | 7.7% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Tropical Smoothie Cafe compares to the systems a buyer in Tennessee 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. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Tropical Smoothie Cafe's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.