March 27, 2017

Meet Mike Rotondo of Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Atlanta

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Rotondo.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mike. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Chicago and for as long as I can remember I have known 2 things for sure – there is no better pizza than Chicago deep dish and I was born to be in the restaurant industry. I originally wanted to be in the criminal justice field and put myself through school working at Baskin Robbins. There I learned the basics – customer service and if you have time to lean you have time to clean. Several hundred ice cream scoops later I decided criminal justice was not the path for me and began working at Wendy’s. I worked my way up the ladder to a district manager position which is where I really gained leadership experience and insight into the franchising industry. From there I made the transition from old fashioned hamburgers to roast beef and ham by way of Arby’s and Honey Baked Ham. After several years in operations with traditional American brands a small young concept by the name of Tropical Smoothie Café caught my eye. To me, there was nobody else in the space doing what they were doing- inspiring a healthier life style and making great tasting products. The concept was so simple. I started as the VP of Operations and in 2012 moved into the position of CEO which I maintain to this day.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To me struggles are just learning experiences that have shaped where I am today. Several years ago, I suffered a heart attack and as many people in the same position would tell you, it was a life changing wake up call. I had one choice after that, to change my life and to change it quickly. I started taking our company values even more seriously than ever, Live Better, which is what we inspire our guests to do every day, and here I was – the head of the company – not taking the values to heart. I went from a guy who never exercised to a runner – and not just any kind but a marathon runner to boot. I’m pleased to say in 2016 I ran The Chicago Marathon and could not have been prouder to see how far I had come, physically of course after 26.2 miles, but also metaphorically to be back in my home town a changed man. I’m also a family man – married for 20 years and a proud father of 4 great kids – and it can be difficult to keep up with the demands of a rapidly growing business as well as maintaining an active family presence.

After my heart attack I made a commitment to my family that once a year we would take a family vacation and we have been everywhere from my personal favorite place- Walt Disney World – to Paris and back. During that time, I decompress and get to focus on what is really important.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
To say Tropical Smoothie Café has come a long way would be an understatement. The brand has had its share of challenges, and did not grow to 550+ units overnight. When I first started the stores were not very profitable, we had to make some tough decisions and I’m pleased to say we rallied and continue to grow stronger. While our franchisees are on the front lines day in and out serving great tasting products to our customers I’m behind the scenes serving them. One of my top priorities is to drive the economic engine of our franchisees through increasing sales and profits. The most successful way we have accomplished this is through menu innovation. Once our franchisees were on board we expanded our menu offerings from just smoothies to food and focused on serving those great tasting better-for-you products that our customers have come to expect from our cafes. Our company values also expand past Live Better. We represent Solid Relationships, Creative Spirit, and Play to Win. Solid Relationships come to life every day in the way we treat our guests, franchisees, and charity partner Camp Sunshine.

Creative Spirit is how we pride ourselves on great tasting innovation. Our toasted flatbreads are second to none and I have been hard pressed to find anyone who does not love our Island Green Smoothie or Chia Banana Boost Smoothie. Lastly we have Play to Win which is what my team aspires to every day, we are on track to have 800 locations by 2018 and 1,000 locations by 2020. If you don’t think working towards 1,000 locations isn’t Playing to Win come, see my team and how hard they work every day and I will gladly prove you wrong. This brand has no boundaries and truly is limitless, once guests experience our food and smoothies they are hooked. I hear stories all the time about individuals who have changed their life for the better – just as I have- through our products here at Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
One of our core values is Play to Win so success is a benchmark that is constantly at the top of our minds whether it is a business metric or a more idealistic metric. From a business standpoint, we will have 800 units by 2018 and 1,000 units by 2020. That is a clear black and white way to define success. For me if we can increase the profitability of our franchise partners I would define that as a huge success metric as well. The other side to defining success is to what extend can we serve our guests in a way that impacts their day to day life? Can our stores serve as a gathering space, an escape from the everyday? Can we keep delivering products that taste great and have added health benefits to top it off? Those are metrics you can’t put a number against but if we can hit them our brand will continue to see the success we see today and hopefully into the future.

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