Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Livingston County supporting nonprofit this holiday season
LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Customers of the Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Brighton and Hartland will have the opportunity to not only save money on menu items in the weeks ahead but help to support a great cause for the holidays.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe restaurants nationwide, including its Livingston County stores will support No Kid Hungry, a national nonprofit created to help solve the issue of childhood hunger, from Nov. 28 through Dec. 24. Customers who donate $5 during that four-week period will receive one coupon good for each month from December through March for such special offers as a free smoothie and wrap, $5 credit, and buy one get one free menu items.
Grand Blanc resident Hani Halloun owns the Brighton and Hartland franchises along with 20 other tropical Smoothie restaurants in Michigan and Ohio. He said customers in Livingston County donated thousands of dollars for a similar campaign supporting No Kid Hungry earlier this year, as part of well over $50,000 raised from all stores Halloun owns.
“It’s a great cause and our customers have been very generous,” Halloun said.
He opened the Brighton Tropical Smoothie Cafe location at 10049 E. Grand River Ave. in March 2015, and it has become his second busiest restaurant among all 22 locations. The Hartland restaurant at 10006 Highland Road opened in January 2015. Combined, the two stores typically employ up to 50 full- and part-time employees at any given time.
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Vice President of Operations Jessica Milliken said the two local Tropical Smoothie Cafe restaurants are avid supporters of Brighton and Hartland schools as well. They have donated proceeds to senior all-night parties and other one-off school-sponsored events, and often feed high school athletes at deep discounts. Many students in both the Brighton and Hartland school districts received Valentine’s cards from Tropical Smoothie with a coupon for a free menu item earlier this year.
“Every penny and every donation counts for No Kid Hungry, but we try to give back locally as well,” Milliken said. “Until you learn more about some of these non-profits and what the schools are doing, you don’t realize how many kids, even in Livingston County, may not be getting full meals every day.”
As for what Livingston County customers order, Halloun said the Brighton location has a higher percentage of customers selecting healthy options compared to most of his 22 stores, such as “Super Veggie” flavors. Both the Brighton and Hartland restaurants sell many Bahama Mamas and Beach Bums, which are among the chain’s best sellers.
“They’ve been great communities for us,” Halloun said. “There’s a lot of pride in these both communities which we see (first-hand) by how clean they keep our stores.”
— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Livingston Daily. Contact the newsroom at livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Tropical Smoothie Cafe to support nonprofit aimed at ending child hunger
