SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · NORTH CAROLINA
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in North Carolina: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in North Carolina have taken 30 SBA loans since 1991 (average $436,210), and of the 13 loans whose story has ended, 0.0% 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 81 franchised outlets in North Carolina (fiscal 2025) — about 0.73 per 100k residents.
Loans in NC
30
Resolved
13
Local charge-off
0.0%
National charge-off
10.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = NC. 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
19,235
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
174.1
national 179.9
Versus the country
-3%
thinner
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in North Carolina — 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 | 11 | — |
| 2014 | 17 | — |
| 2015 | 21 | — |
| 2023 | 68 | — |
| 2024 | 69 | — |
| 2025 | 81 | — |
| System | Loans in NC | Local charge-off | Units in NC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiznos | 61 | 16.1% | — |
| Zaxby's | 54 | 10.3% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 34 | 0.0% | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 33 | 6.9% | — |
| Culver's | 28 | thin | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 27 | 14.8% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 27 | 5.3% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 25 | 41.2% | — |
| Marco's Pizza | 23 | 0.0% | — |
| Smoothie King (Health Food Store) | 22 | 29.4% | — |
| Mellow Mushroom | 19 | 25.0% | — |
| Wingstop Restaurant | 19 | 25.0% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Tropical Smoothie Cafe compares to the systems a buyer in North Carolina 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.
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