Tropical Smoothie Cafe expected to open soon near Lewisburg

Tropical Smoothie Cafe was preparing to add another national chain to the Kelly Township retail corridor, with a Lewisburg location listed at 195 AJK Boulevard, across from Walmart’s Supercenter at 120 AJK Boulevard. Signage had been visible for weeks, and the company’s location page already showed a Lewisburg store page even as the locator marked it closed. No official opening date had been announced, but the cafe was expected to open sometime this month.

The location matters because AJK Boulevard has become one of the most heavily traveled commercial stretches in the Lewisburg area. The plaza across from Walmart already houses a mix of national and regional names, including Dollar Tree, MAJIK Rent-to-Own, GameStop, AT&T and Goodwill. Adding Tropical Smoothie Cafe gives shoppers and workers one more quick-service option in a corridor that is increasingly built around convenience, errands and lunch-hour traffic.

That kind of placement also points to where chain operators see steady consumer demand in Union County. A storefront beside Walmart and near Route 15 offers built-in visibility and a stream of customers already heading to the shopping district. Even without a large construction project or a major economic announcement, a new restaurant like this can change the rhythm of a retail node by adding jobs, more stop-and-go traffic and another reason for customers to linger in the plaza.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe itself has spent years scaling into markets like Lewisburg. The company says it serves made-to-order smoothies, wraps, flatbreads and bowls. Its franchise history traces back to Destin, Florida, where the concept began in 1997 before first franchising in 1998. A 2026 location report put the chain at 1,723 U.S. locations as of March 11, 2026, showing how much room the brand still has for growth in smaller but active markets.

Lewisburg has already seen similar pressure from chain restaurant expansion. Planned Arby’s and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen projects in Kelly Township showed that the AJK Boulevard and Route 15 corridor has long been attractive to quick-service and fast-casual operators. The Tropical Smoothie Cafe opening fits that pattern: another recognizable brand choosing the same commercial strip, and another sign that the Lewisburg shopping area remains one of the strongest retail draws in Union County.