Another national chain is expected to open in State College next year.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans to launch a franchise location at 132 S. Garner St. inside The Maxxen, one of downtown State College’s newest high-rise apartment complexes. Bennett Williams Commercial, the building’s real estate agency, wrote in a Facebook post that Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s new shop will occupy about 1,255 square feet.
Real estate agent Kandy Weader said it will be several months before the restaurant opens “as there is a considerable buildout.”
The Maxxen’s commercial space, which occupies the 12-story building’s two bottom floors, has remained largely vacant since it opened in 2020 but is gradually adding tenants. El Jefe’s Taqueria opened in May 2021 at 352 E. Calder Way on the complex’s ground floor, while Mezeh Mediterranean Grill is expected to open in the near future next to El Jefe’s.
Penn State Hillel’s Gutterman Family Center for Jewish Life, which opened in September at 180 S. Garner St., occupies about 15,000 square feet of The Maxxen’s Beaver Avenue-facing bottom two floors.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe operates more than 20 franchises in Pennsylvania, although none are particularly close to Happy Valley. Three are bunched up near Harrisburg and Carlisle, while the remaining stores are anchored near Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Founded in 1993 in Destin, Florida, the company now has more than 1,150 locations in 45 states.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe will join a budding smoothie scene in State College. Local options already include K2 Roots, Playa Bowls, Mr. Wish, Shake Smart and Irving’s, among others.
As you might expect, Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s menu largely features fruit and vegetable smoothies that can be enhanced with protein powder or nutritional supplements like probiotics and multivitamins. Food selections include flatbreads, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads and breakfast wraps.
While walk-in ordering is welcome, Tropical Smoothie Cafe also offers online ordering and catering services. More information is available on the company’s website.
