Tropical Smoothie Cafe seems to have burst onto the scene here in Indy. It's a national chain with over 1700 locations nationwide. Started in Destin, Florida, it's now headquartered in Atlanta. It is now owned by private equity firms managed by Blackstone.
This location is in the same strip center as Thai Cafe, Great Clips, UPS and a few other businesses.
While "smoothie" is obviously in its name, it truly is also a cafe with food items on the menu. Options include smoothies, toasted snack rolls, sandwiches, dillas, tropic bowls, breakfast items, sweets, a few sides, kids options and a bit more.
As you enter, you realize that a good amount of their business is carry-out and/or for delivery services. They do have a handful of tables. The counter is a bit tall, so it took me a few moments to be noticed. When I was noticed, customer service was just fine.
I ended up ordering a three-cheese chicken dilla (essentially a quesadilla). I picked chips as a side. You can order a smoothie with an entree for $4.99 - I went with a mocha madness that has chocolate, coffee, cappuccino, and non-fat yogurt.
I decided to eat in-house. The ambience has a light beach theme. I had to laugh a bit because a mural on the wall talks about the chain's devotion to healthier eats while I was drinking an 810 calorie smoothie with 225mg of caffeine. Um, yeah. To be fair, they do have mostly healthier options.
This was a pretty solid meal. The employees were friendly. The food was good (but not great - you will not confuse this 'dilla for a traditional quesadilla in any way). The pricing was fair. They do also carry bottled drinks, but they do not have traditional fountain options other than in bottles.
I'd expect Tropical Smoothie to do a pretty brisk business. This is a good location for it, and people seemed to be entering pretty steadily. While I'll likely go back, this is not what I'd call a destination experience. read more