Reginald Foster and his wife, Zenna, currently own five stores in Georgia and North Carolina, including Augusta, Evans, and Fort Bragg. He will soon open two new locations in Grovetown and a second store on Fort Bragg. (Photo taken from franchisetimes.com)
For many business owners, owning seven stores would probably sound like a daunting task, but for Reginald Foster, it’s much less challenging than his previous job.
Foster – franchise owner for the Tropical Smoothie Cafe and an Army veteran who served 25 years – and his wife, Zenna, currently oversee five locations in the Southeast: Augusta, Evans, Fort Gordon, Fort Bragg, and Fort Benning. He’s also building a second location on Fort Bragg in North Carolina and just signed a lease to open another one in Grovetown.
“I often tell my wife this is a cakewalk compared to being in the military,” states Foster. “In the military, our days start around 5 a.m. and end around 5-6 p.m. daily.” He worked in telecommunications and served as company commander for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. “I had seven recruiting stations within an hour of my office in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
He says the Augusta café – located at 262 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway near Target – was his first store, which opened Memorial Day weekend in 2016.
“The Augusta store was the top TSC in the state for the first three years,” Foster explains. “It still ranks within the top four in the state when compared to all TSC cafes but remains number one among all non-drive-through cafes.”
The Evans store is in the Mullins Colony Shopping Center near Belk, and the Grovetown store will be located next door to the Navy Credit Union on Steiner Way near Walmart.
Tropical Smoothie Café serves a variety of items, such as smoothies, quesadillas, wraps, and sandwiches, as well as breakfast food options. “I will say the sales are 60% smoothies and 40% food,” he adds.