The long-awaited opening of Tropical Smoothie Café on 23rd St. across from OCU’s campus is finally over with the restaurant’s grand opening on Oct. 27, bringing healthier dietary options for everyone just in time for the Homecoming festivities.
“I love Tropical Smoothie Café,” junior BM Musical Theatre major Ellis Stumbo said. “They have great smoothies and good food! [Also], their smoothies are a good size while still being at a fair price.”
On Oct. 26, the staff of Tropical Smoothie Café held a friends and family event, inviting OCU students, staff and admin to join them for a free smoothie and meal.
“[We just did a] soft open, kind of introducing us to the community,” District Manager Kay Patel said. “[We were] also just providing our team a bit of extra light training. We had lines half a mile that way (West on 23rd St.) and half a mile that way (East on 23rd St.).”
In an email sent out by the OCU Police Department, Chief of Police Dexter Nelson informed students of a partnership between the Tropical Smoothie Café, the university, and the police department.
“We really want to make sure we can take care of you guys,” Patel said. “We want you guys to hang out here and do your homework and everything. So, we’re trying to come up with a discount just for you guys.”
In the future, students will be able to present their student ID for a discount on their purchase at this location.
“We want to make sure that everybody knows that there is an option of eating healthy food that’s considered fast food because being healthy these days is super important,” Patel said.
Tropical Smoothie Café offers a delicious, mouth-watering menu that also keeps students eating healthy.
“Nothing is fried,” Patel said. “We don’t have any dairy products that we make our smoothies with. It’s just ice water, fresh fruits, spinach, and kale.”
They also offer a multitude of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options and the ability to customize a menu item to an individual’s dietary needs and avoid cross-contamination by taking the extra steps to take care of a customer.
“We literally can customize any of our food and smoothies to your liking because none of them are premade,” Patel said. “So, when you place your order, we’re going to make it right there as you place it.”
Patel shares that she is a vegetarian and takes dietary needs seriously when it comes to food preparation.
“We have a motto that’s called ‘Eat better, feel better’,” Patel said. “You feel whatever you consume. We want you to walk away just energized and loving it and [coming] back to see us.”
Along with the new location comes a new layout of the restaurant itself, unmatched nationwide for the Tropical Smoothie chain.
“We have a third-party pickup lane, and we have our drive-thru,” Patel said. “It’s a very different concept because we understand that your time is important as students. If you’re coming through the drive-thru, you don’t want to be waiting [behind] someone picking up Uber Eats or Postmates. So, we made a lane just for them.”
Furthermore, the café also differs from others with the layout of their kitchen area.
“[In] our other concept, our whole entire kitchen is open so you can see it,” Patel said. “In this one, we have a smoothie kitchen, food kitchen, and prep area by [themselves]. It’s not all one. It has a very full-service feel to it.”
Franchise Business Leader Ivan Soto remarks the opening of this location is the 15th within this franchise, which stretches from Kansas City to Ada, OK.
“Our franchise is local to Oklahoma City, which is nice because [Ivan Soto] visits us,” Patel said. “He takes the time to get to know us [and] what we need. He cares.”
Tropical Smoothie Café invites all to come visit and try out their delicious menu, open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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