This national chain is aggressively targeting Charlotte for its growth

It was recently revealed that Charlotte is now the fifth fastest growing city in the nation. The U.S. Census Bureau found that the Queen City welcomed just over 13,000 new residents between 2017 and 2018.

As Charlotte continues to grow, more businesses continue to seek out the city as a place to expand. So is it any surprise that a national chain is aggressively eyeing Charlotte for its own growth? Tropical Smoothie Cafe aims to open an additional 130 stores across the country by the end of the year. It plans to open a significant amount of those locally.

“We have been developing in Charlotte and North Carolina aggressively over the last five years,” Charles Watson, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, LLC told CharlotteFive. “Charlotte has consistently been ranked among the fastest growing cities in the country and it is projected to grow an additional 11% by the year 2023.”

The fast-casual “better-for-you” chain currently has nine locations in Charlotte and 40 within the state. “Charlotte can expect very consistent growth from us over the next 5 years,” said Watson, who will be in town Tuesday at the University City location, 8948 JM Keynes Drive Suite 410. “It’s just a great fit demographically,” Watson said.

Charlotte has recently welcomed several other national food chains into the mix. New York-based burger joint, Shake Shack opened its first location on Park Road last April. Since then they have opened a second location in Blakeney Shopping Center.

Cava, the build-your-own-style Mediterranean eatery, came from Washington, D.C. and set up three locations locally and one in Huntersville. In more recent months, we’ve seen Habit Burger Grill, a California-based chain, open doors in the Midtown area.

With brands and chains catching on to the potential for what this city can bring business wise, you can guarantee we will see others targeting Charlotte in the near future as well.

This story was originally published June 3, 2019 at 6:41 PM with the headline "This national chain is aggressively targeting Charlotte for its growth."