SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · VIRGINIA
Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Virginia: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Virginia have taken 70 SBA loans since 1991 (average $238,634), and of the 58 loans whose story has ended, 8.6% 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 124 franchised outlets in Virginia (fiscal 2025) — about 1.41 per 100k residents.
Loans in VA
70
Resolved
58
Local charge-off
8.6%
National charge-off
10.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = VA. 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
15,756
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
178.8
national 179.9
Versus the country
-1%
thinner
Every business in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's industry operating in Virginia — 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 | 79 | — |
| 2014 | 84 | — |
| 2015 | 86 | — |
| 2023 | 120 | — |
| 2024 | 121 | — |
| 2025 | 124 | — |
| System | Loans in VA | Local charge-off | Units in VA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiznos | 59 | 32.6% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 44 | 21.9% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 31 | 12.0% | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 27 | 6.3% | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 21 | 23.5% | — |
| Marco's Pizza | 21 | thin | — |
| Nothing Bundt Cakes | 18 | thin | — |
| Bruster'S | 17 | 0.0% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 17 | 0.0% | — |
| DUCK DONUTS | 17 | thin | — |
| Blimpie | 16 | 16.7% | — |
| Zaxby's | 14 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Tropical Smoothie Cafe compares to the systems a buyer in Virginia 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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