Fruit Smoothies Are A Sweet Sale For Tropical Smoothie Café in Maumee
BY NANCY GAGNET — MIRROR REPORTER
With a beach theme atmosphere and fresh fruit drinks, Tropical Smoothie Café is like a seaside stop in Northwest Ohio.
Located on Conant Street in Maumee, the café has a large customer base that has grown continually since opening in 2007, garnering Franchisee of the Year honors from the Destin, Fla.-based company for owners Bill and Julie Munson of Whitehouse.
“This has been a good year for us,” Julie said.
In 2009, the restaurant realized a 26.7 percent sales increase, and according to Julie, that number could increase to 30 or 35 percent this year.
Julie, a speech and language pathologist, and Bill, who works in maintenance at a local hospital, opened the franchise with the help of their sons, Eric and Shaun.
“It’s definitely a family affair. We each have our own strengths and we all get along,” Bill said.
Summer is celebrated year-round with a countdown to Flip-Flop Day, the first day of summer, when the store offers free smoothies, beach balls and flip-flops, Bill said.
“We feel in love with the idea of being in the tropics. It feels like you’re on vacation in here,” he said. “And it wasn’t the traditional hamburgers and French fries.”
Menu items include toasted wraps, bistro sandwiches, grilled flatbreads, salads and smoothies made with real fruit.
“We’re the only place to use real fruit for our smoothies. It’s not a corn syrup mixture,” Julie said.
The store also features a catering service, which has been very successful in helping to bolster business, according to Julie, who said the Maumee store is the third-highest in catering sales among the 285 locations nationwide.
Julie’s parents, Don and Joanne Noethen, are active as well, making catering deliveries, and Joanne works in the café one day a week.
Building the business took time and effort, as Eric often worked from open to close managing the restaurant.
In addition, Julie and Eric conducted several street marketing campaigns, in which they visited area businesses, especially in the Arrowhead Business Park, with free samples and coupons.
“A lot of it was word of mouth,” Eric said. “Once you get a few people in, they tell other people, and we have developed a relationship with many of them – we know them by name.”
Penny Kidd, a second-grade teacher at Wayne Trail Elementary School, stops for a meal there at least once a week.
“I like that it’s healthier fast food and it definitely has friendly service. I know just about everyone who works there,” she said.
She also likes the convenience of the location – near her place of work and a sports center where her children play soccer several times a week.
“You get what you pay for. It’s well worth it,” she said.
Shaun, who works as a crew leader, hopes eventually to open a second location.
The Munsons agree that the most important factor in reaching a level of success has been the quality staff.
“We have an outstanding group of young people here,” Julie said of the 15 individuals the restaurant employs.
Many began working there in high school and have continued as college students, she said.
“They have taken real ownership in the business and that says a lot. It’s important that these kids like where they work,” she said.
Andrea King started working there when the store opened.
“It’s a really good environment, a very family-oriented environment where everyone is looking out for you,” she said.
Serving as a crew leader, King works approximately 30 hours each week while attending Bowling Green State University.
“Everybody here is so nice. We’ve become good friends and we do a lot together,” she said.
AliciaKae Honsberger, who has worked there two years, agreed.
“It’s a fun experience and it’s very friendly and relaxing,” she said. “I even come here on my days off to have a smoothie and hang out with my friends.”
Tropical Smoothie Café also participates in school fund-raising campaigns and has been very supportive of Camp Sunshine, which provides a vacation experience to families with children who have life-threatening illnesses. Franchises were asked to raise $1,500 for the camp; however, the Maumee location raised nearly $5,000.
“The community as a whole has been very generous and very loyal,” Julie said. “We feel very lucky.”
Tropical Smoothie Café is located at 1385 Conant St. in Conant Crossing near Meijer.
For information, call the store at (419) 893-2100 or visit www.tropicalsmoothiecafe.com.
Tropical Smoothie Café in Maumee is also on Facebook.