we strive to make you say Wow!

Richard Matusow, CE-Om

In 2001 after graduating from business school, I moved to Rio de Janeiro to immerse myself in the healthy beach culture and to embrace business opportunities that aligned with my desire to have a positive impact in the world. My daily routine quickly began to revolve around the best açaí bowl shops in town. No matter where I was in Rio açaí was always an integral part of the active, vibrant lifestyle and a unifier for the community. The açaí shops were where I met people from all backgrounds and recharged while sharing inspiring conversations. Ever since that year in Rio I’ve been on a mission to eat and share the best açaí bowls possible.

When I returned to NYC I connected with the founders of Sambazon and joined them as VP of Business Development. I admired their focus on building a vertically integrated business based on açaí as a driver for social, environmental, and economic progress in the Amazon Rainforest. For the ensuing 11 years I focused on developing new sales channels and teams to optimize both the growth of Sambazon in the USA and to help drive the market driven conservation model in the Amazon. As Sambazon flourished and I was constantly traveling to meet with retailers, brokers, distributors, and reps all over the country, my passion grew to create a community focused açaí shop similar to the ones that I had experienced in Rio. For the next several years Matthew and I developed the business plans to start Carioca Bowls with the goal of raising the bar by creating the ultimate açaí experience for all the senses.

Since we opened in June of 2015, building Carioca Bowls has been my way of synthesizing all of my professional & personal experiences while collaborating with my long time amigo Matthew on our mission to serve the best handcrafted açaí bowls imaginable in a vibrant and inspiring setting. Açaí you soon!

Richard has an MBA from Columbia University, MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and BA from Dartmouth College.  He teaches yoga & meditation and has completed over 1,000 hours of yoga teacher training at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, Babajis Kriya Yoga Ashram, and the Chakra Institute.  Richard is also a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher.

Matthew Lau, COO

I first discovered açaí in 2002 when I met one of the founders of Sambazon at a coffee show in Portland. I was immediately blown away by the taste and the energy that it gave me. Due to my passion for açaí, I joined Sambazon as the head of Foodservice. My mantra in this role was “the bowl is the goal” and for 7 years I helped develop açaí programs for cafes and juice bars all  over the USA.

Traveling to Brazil and seeing how açaí is engrained in the active, healthy lifestyle  piqued my interest to create my own açaí café with unique offerings in an inspiring setting. Carioca Bowls is my way of accomplishing this goal by constantly innovating and raising the bar with açaí bowls and other superfoods.  It also gives me the opportunity to team up with my  long time buddy, Richard, to co-create a vibrant space and supportive community.

Matthew has a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University and did a stint with the Peace Corps in Bolivia.  He began his natural foods career at TAZO in 1995 and also was part of the start-up team for Kombucha Wonder Drink.  He owned a distribution company that mainly specialized selling Evolution juices but also distributed 10 other local, organic brands.  This all led to the job at Sambazon which folded into Carioca Bowls and Full Lotus PDX.  He has chickens, dogs, a cat, and a fish as well as a beautiful daughter and lovely wife. Family time is central to his happiness and he also enjoys coaching soccer, following the Timbers, hiking,  snowboarding, and golfing.