Tropical Smoothie Cafe opens for new healthy option in Salisbury
Meg RyanAt Tropical Smoothie Cafe everyone is welcome to sit back with a healthy meal and take in a little "tropitude."
Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a fast causal restaurant centered around healthy options, opened its franchise location in Salisbury, located at 1305 S. Salisbury Blvd, on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The Florida-based eatery offers customers customizable smoothies, wraps, bowls, flatbreads and sandwiches.
The eatery is owned by husband and wife duo Sam and Hemali Mehta, who were looking to get into the restaurant industry for a while, and said opening a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise location seemed like the best fit with its healthy options.
"We really liked the food and the smoothies," Hemali said.
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The Salisbury-based couple saw how popular the franchise is in other areas and liked the idea of bringing healthy food options to the city. Hemali is a vegetarian and Sam is a vegan, so with Tropical Smoothie Cafe's ability to make everything tailored to a person's diet restrictions or choices was a huge selling point.
"That's a plus for us," Hemali said.
The inside of Tropical Smoothie Cafe is bright and airy, welcoming customers to enjoy their meals at the white wooden tables and brightly colored chairs. Or, order on the restaurant's app and pick up the food to go.
The restaurant also offers a drive-thru for customers on-the-go or catering. Finding a location that fit the drive-thru was the biggest challenge with opening the restaurant, Hemali said, but the landlord and franchise were helpful in making sure the building process went smoothly.
On the menu, customers can order from a variety of smoothies, sandwiches, wraps, flatbreads and bowls, plus a breakfast and kids' menu.
The current seasonal smoothies include mango turmeric with unsweetened vanilla almond milk; mango, pineapple and turmeric; or strawberry granola, with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, strawberries, cinnamon and topped with granola.
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Other food items include the chipotle chicken club flatbread, Baja chicken wrap and hummus veggie bowl. All items can be made vegetarian or vegan using non-dairy products, vegetables and Beyond Meat products, Hemali said.
From 7-9 a.m. daily, the eatery has smoothie happy hour to help customers jump start their day with a refreshing smoothie for half price.
The Mehtas are excited to join Salisbury's restaurant scene and are already receiving positive feedback on their Facebook page, with more than 1,000 likes and multiple comments.
The couple want all their customers to feel welcome, and as they work to keep their healthy new year's resolutions, to look toward to visiting Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
"We're hoping this will be a healthy option," Hemali said.
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If you go:
What: Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Where: 1305 S. Salisbury Blvd. in Salisbury
When: Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Contact: (770) 821-1900, Tropicalsmoothiecafe.com