With over 1,200 locations across the United States, Tropical Smoothie Café is a popular fast-casual restaurant chain with a mission to provide healthy, easy, and simple foods that customers can eat and enjoy every day. Their menu includes low-sugar smoothies, as well as ready-to-order sandwiches and salads. Tropical Smoothie Café ensures that all of their menu items are made fresh each day, with no frying, grilling, or oils involved.
Rafik Fouad is the proud owner of three Tropical Smoothie Café locations in Maryland. Originally from the United Kingdom, Rafik previously worked in the fashion industry and had his own brand of clothing. After moving to America, he wanted to broaden his business experience and invest in a franchise. He was drawn to Tropical Smoothie Café not only because of their healthy menu, but because their franchise locations are easy to run and maintain. When Rafik was ready to open his first location, he knew he wanted an SBA loan because of its government guarantee. He worked with a business broker who helped him distribute a financing application to a pool of lenders. Dennis, one of our experienced Business Development Officers, saw Rafik’s application and contacted him directly. Dennis helped him achieve financing to open his first location, and Rafik found the process to be smooth and streamlined. After opening his second location a few years later, Rafik was ready to expand again and reached out to Dennis for SBA financing. Since Dennis was familiar with the process and knew what Rafik wanted, he was able to easily help Rafik secure financing for his third location.
Rafik had this to say about his partnership with Dennis:
Dennis is an amazing guy to work with! He was extremely knowledgeable about the SBA loan process. If I had any questions, I would email or call him and receive a fast response. He kept calm throughout the process and was ready to meet any challenges. Dennis was easy to work with from application to closing. I’ve already recommended Dennis to other business owners for SBA lending!
Congratulations to Rafik for opening up his third Tropical Smoothie Café location! We wish him all the best as he continues to expand his business in the future.
