New to Idaho, Tropical Smoothie Café already has four Boise stores in the works

Boise’s second Tropical Smoothie Cafe will sit between Gyro Shack and Buffalo Wild Wings in the City Center Plaza complex. Photo by Teya Vitu.

The first Tropical Smoothie Café in Idaho opened July 31, a second is on the way, and a third and fourth are in the works.

All are the product of franchise holders Kory and Michelle Pukash, who have an agreement to open five Tropical Smoothie stores in Idaho. They have  right of first refusal in the state for the Atlanta-based fast casual chain.

The Pukashes opened their first Tropical Smoothie in the Calderwood North Shopping Center on Overland Road near  Maple Grove Road. They are getting estimates for tenant improvements on their second in the Clearwater Building, part of the City Center Plaza development  on Grove Plaza in downtown Boise. The projected opening date is late October.

Kory Pukash said letters of intent are in place but no leases signed yet for a third Tropical Smoothie on Broadway in the former Key Bank building shared with Ladd Family Pharmacy and a fourth store at Linder Road and McMillan roads.

They chose to have four Boise stores in the works before the first even opened.

“If we have more than one open, we get brand awareness quicker,” Pukash said. “Primarily, drive-thru locations are going really fast. Good lease space is hard to get unless you get on them fast.”

The Pukashes also own BloodyFine Foods, a Bloody Mary mix company in Boise, and KMP Companies LLC, a Boise-based information technology contract services and software development company.