A Tropical Smoothie Cafe is on track to open at RK Washington Square in Hudson before the holiday season, bringing smoothies, wraps and flatbreads to the Route 85 shopping center. The space is undergoing a full interior fit-out as the new cafe takes shape at 234 Washington Street.
According to WhatNow Boston, RK Centers shared news of the planned Hudson opening in a social media update, indicating the new cafe is on track to open before the holidays. The shopping center itself sits in Hudson, Massachusetts, according to rkcenters.com, which lists the property address on Route 85. Leasing materials for the center identify Tropical Smoothie Café as the tenant for space 9, a unit measuring 3,054 square feet with 26 feet of frontage, per the RK Washington Square leasing brochure. That same brochure notes the center logs a daily traffic count of 30,000 vehicles.
The Hudson space is reported to measure roughly 3,000 square feet, with an interior fit-out carrying estimated construction costs of $110,000. The new cafe will be operated by Twin Coast Enterprises, Inc., a regional franchise group with multiple Wendy's and Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations throughout the Northeast. Christopher Baker, who serves as president of Twin Coast Enterprises, confirmed the Hudson expansion to WhatNow Boston but has not shared additional details about the new location.
Twin Coast's Growing Smoothie Footprint
Twin Coast Enterprises already operates two Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Methuen and Haverhill, and the company owns multiple Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Wendy's franchises. On its own site, the franchisee describes itself as a proud owner of multiple Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to Twin Coast Enterprises. The company says it is always looking for new locations to expand its business.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe, founded in Destin, Florida, has more than 1,700 locations across the country and operates over 30 Massachusetts locations, per the seed reporting. The chain's reach already extends into New Hampshire, where five cafes operate in Concord, Manchester, Portsmouth, Rochester and Tilton, with another planned in Nashua, according to a separate report from The Keene Sentinel on a Keene, New Hampshire opening. That Keene cafe, slated for the West Street Shopping Center, was expected to lease about 1,600 square feet and employ about 30 people, with franchisee Christopher Baker — who the Sentinel reported then had six cafe locations — behind that project as well.
What's on the Menu
The Hudson menu is expected to include signature smoothies and blended beverages alongside smoothie bowls, wraps, quesadillas, flatbreads, salads and breakfast options. Specific items named include the Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wrap, Chicken Bacon Ranch Flatbread, SuperGreen Caesar Salad and Chia Oatmeal Bowl. Seasonal options are also expected, including the Fanta Phantom limited-edition Halloween smoothie and the Salted Caramel JavaBlender.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe has not announced an official grand opening date for the Hudson location. WhatNow Boston says it plans to share additional details as they become available.
Part of a Broader Northeast Push
The Hudson project lands amid a period of rapid expansion for the chain. On October 19, Tropical Smoothie Cafe announced a 40-unit franchise development deal across New York and Connecticut, according to a PR Newswire release, which noted the brand had more than 1,750 cafes and was on track to open its 1,800th location by the end of 2026. The deal's franchise partner, Aurify Kingstar, has developed, operated or acquired more than 300 restaurants across its portfolio, per the same release.
Separate reporting from CNBC projected the chain would exceed 1,800 locations nationwide by the end of the year, representing 50% growth since the end of 2022. CNBC also reported that Tropical Smoothie Cafe's loyalty program had grown to 13 million members, up 25% from the year-ago period. For Hudson shoppers, that national growth story is now playing out locally, with a 30,000-vehicle traffic corridor on Route 85 set to welcome its own slice of the smoothie chain's expansion before the holidays arrive.
