Another Smoothie Cafe For Lower East Side
Tropical Smoothie Cafe would fill a vacant office space just a block from Jamba.
624 E. Ogden Ave. Photo taken July 31st, 2013 by Michael Horne.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans to expand its local presence with a new location at 626 E. Ogden Ave., on the Lower East Side.
The cafe, a national chain, would convert a 1,622-square-foot office space, formerly occupied by Coldwell Banker Realty into a home for its health-focused concept, offering custom smoothies, sandwiches and wraps.
Yash Patel is the franchisee for the new business, which will be the second for Milwaukee, joining an existing cafe at 3657 S. 27th St.
The menu at Tropical Smoothie Cafe features more than a dozen smoothie flavors, including Acai Berry Boost and Mango Magic, the vegetable-forward Avocolada and indulgent options like Mocha Madness and Peanut Butter Cup. Customers can personalize their drinks with add-ins like protein powder, collagen and Vitamin B12.
The cafe also serves smoothie bowls with toppings like goji berries and Nutella, Greek yogurt bowls, sweet and savory breakfast wraps, sandwiches, flatbreads, salads and quesadillas.
Founders Eric Jenrich, Delora Jenrich and David Walker launched the first Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Florida in 1997. The chain, now owned by Blackstone, has grown to include more than 1,400 locations nationwide.
The cafe will be located just one block east of Jamba at 544 E. Ogden Ave., which offers a similar selection of smoothies and bowls, plus refreshers, blended coffee and snacks like oatmeal, waffles and soft pretzels.
Illinois-based RESA Construction is leading the remodel for the new cafe, with Kolbrook Design, Inc. as the project’s design professional, according to permits submitted to the City of Milwaukee. The renovation is estimated to cost $150,000.
Vito Sorce of Palazzo, LLC owns the building, which is also home to an AT&T store.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is one of several smoothie-centric businesses under development in Milwaukee. Oakberry Acai plans to open at 2142 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., in Bay View, while Baya Bar is in the works at 2220 N. Prospect Ave.
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