Marie Wood, manager of the new Tropical Smoothie Cafe at the Colonnade, sat down for a minute after steering a health- but calorie-conscious customer through the list of smoothies, eventually matching her to a “Totally Green” with cucumber, green apple, kale, spinach, celery, and kiwi, sweetened with turbinado sugar (forgoing the Splenda option). It was an intimidating twenty-four ounces, but had only 300-some calories. “All our smoothies are that size, except our kids’–they’re twelve ounces,” Wood explained.
“Working here got me to start eating healthier,” Wood says. “I didn’t eat my fruits, didn’t eat my vegetables. To be honest, I never had a smoothie before I worked here. The first one I had was a Bahama Mama”–coconut, pineapple, strawberry, and white chocolate. “It was really yummy.”(At 460 calories, the menu puts it in the “indulgent” category.)
Franchisee Debbie Lemieux-King owns several other Tropical Smoothies in Canton and environs, so Wood, twenty-two, is the person you’re most likely to encounter. While she can supply all the protein-boosting, anti-oxidant concoctions favored by athletes and health nuts, she also admits frankly that “there are things here that are not super-healthy, like cookies.” She also sells tacos, sandwiches, salads, and breakfast wraps.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 885 W. Eisenhower (Colonnade), 882-2971. Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. tropicalsmoothiecafe.com