66 • FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • OCTOBER 2016
S
ometimes, a restaurant's design can be a little too on
the nose. Prior to Tropical Smoothie Cafe's recent
redesign, that could have been a fair description of
this 515-unit fast-casual chain, which offers smooth-
ies, wraps, sandwiches, salads and more.
The concept's old design hit the tropical theme hard,
with bright oranges and purples, tiki hut–inspired touches
and even intentionally fake-looking fake palm trees. Though
TROPICAL SMOOTHIE
CAFE ENCOURAGES
ENGAGEMENT WITH
NEW DESIGN
With a fresh take on the tropics, Tropical
Smoothie Cafe banishes loud-and-proud
kitschy and upgrades to subdued beach
house vibe.
By Toby Weber, Contributing Editor
Photos courtesy of Tropical Smoothie Cafe