24-Hour Gluten-Free Dishes With Vegan and Keto Options Arrive When PowerSoul Cafe Opens

Dina Mitchell spent nearly 14 years developing Tropical Smoothie Cafes across Las Vegas and Southern California and then sold it all in 2014. Now she’s ready to try her hand at something she can call her own — the quick-service restaurant PowerSoul Cafe. She plans to open the first in early 2022 with 100 percent gluten-free fast-food that serves vegan and keto options with no GMOs and real fruit blended smoothies.

Mitchell decided to launch the 500- to 1,500-square-foot restaurant first in Nevada with a 24-hour drive-thru, a smart food locker, or a walk-up window, giving customers a choice in how to pick up their food.

She says she hasn’t finalized a lease on the first location, and has four already in the works with plans to open seven in the first year. Over the next decade, Mitchell hopes to launch up to 159 locations nationwide.

Mitchell already created what she calls a pay-it-forward program called Smoothie Sopreso that will give patrons the choice to round up their payment to the nearest dollar or buy and donate a smoothie, which goes directly to nonprofits. PowerSoul Cafe will also compensate workers for the time they spend volunteering for local charities.

“After 15 years in the franchise business with Tropical Smoothie Cafe, I realized the franchise model needed work,” Mitchell says. She’s taking a different approach to franchising, creating partner stores where the investor splits the cost of build out, equipment, and operating capital; operates the store for a management fee; and splits the dividends. An investor can buy one share for less than $5,000.

PowerSoul Cafe [Official Site]

• PowerSoul Cafe [Official Site]

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