--- title: "Multi-Unit Hardee's Operator Signs Development Agreement with Tropical Smoothie Cafe" url: https://burnaze.com/article/c9e60515-7984-45a8-9622-86a5796ac544 source: "Franchising.com" original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/multiunit_hardees_operator_signs_development_agreement_with_tropical_smooth.html author: "Multi-Unit Franchisee" category: "Restaurants" industry: "Restaurants" topics: ["Development & multi-unit"] published: 2021-04-21T07:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:07:14.262Z image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/5910_plate.jpg --- # Multi-Unit Hardee's Operator Signs Development Agreement with Tropical Smoothie Cafe **TL;DR:** Rob Schmidt, a multi-unit Hardee's operator, has signed a development agreement with Tropical Smoothie Cafe to develop 16 locations in Mississippi and Alabama. Schmidt, a five-time Hardee's Franchisee of the Year award winner, operates 36 Hardee's locations across several states. *By Multi-Unit Franchisee, originally published in Franchising.com on 2021-04-21. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/multiunit_hardees_operator_signs_development_agreement_with_tropical_smooth.html).* ## Story Rob Schmidt is a multi-unit operator who has decided to diversify. The Hardee’s franchisee has just signed an agreement to develop 16 Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Mississippi and Alabama during the next several years. Schmidt is a five-time Hardee’s Franchisee of the Year award winner with more than 25 years of restaurant industry experience. He operates 36 Hardee’s locations across several states. “It's been an incredibly rewarding experience franchising with Hardee’s over the past two decades, and I'm very excited to diversify my franchise portfolio with a high-caliber brand like Tropical Smoothie Cafe,” said Schmidt. “The first time I visited a Tropical Smoothie Cafe location nearly four years ago, I was immediately impressed with the healthier menu items and found myself craving the brand’s smoothies regularly. Once I began looking into the franchising opportunity, I learned about the exceptional culture and how the brand’s values of putting people first aligned with mine, and the rest was history.” Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a fast-casual cafe concept with more than 940 locations nationwide. - Get Started in Franchising - Franchise Rankings & Awards - Franchise Sales & Development - Featured Franchise Stories Franchising.com is produced by Franchise Update Media. Franchise Update Media has its finger on the pulse of franchising with unrivalled audience intelligence and market driven data. No media company understands the franchise landscape deeper than Franchise Update Media. 1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 300A Washington, DC 20005 PH. (408) 402-5681 - Franchisee Financing & Lending - Site Selection & Real Estate - Supply Chain & Procurement - Annual Franchise Development Report - Multi-Unit Franchising Conference - Franchise Growth & Marketing Conference - Franchise Leadership & Development Conference - Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine - Franchise Update Magazine - Franchise Update Franchisor Report - Franchising Express Report - International Franchise Report - Multi-Unit Franchisee Report The multi-unit franchise opportunities listed above are not related to or endorsed by Multi-Unit Franchisee or Franchise Update Media Group. We are not engaged in, supporting, or endorsing any specific franchise, business opportunity, company or individual. No statement in this site is to be construed as a recommendation. We encourage prospective franchise buyers to perform extensive due diligence when considering a franchise opportunity. ## Entities - Franchising.com (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - unit expansion (topic) - multi-unit development (topic) - Multi-Unit Franchisee (person) - Tropical Smoothie Cafe (company) - Alabama (location) - Hardee's (company) - Mississippi (location) - franchise diversification (topic) --- Originally reported by Multi-Unit Franchisee, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/multiunit_hardees_operator_signs_development_agreement_with_tropical_smooth.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/c9e60515-7984-45a8-9622-86a5796ac544).