Palmetto Superfoods’ plant-based açai bowls and more are coming to Austin. The eatery shared on its Instagram that it intends to open its first location outside of California in ATX. According to this job listing, the fresh and healthy food brand is already looking for a “bowl barista” to work out of its 1900 Aldrich Street location.
Palmetto CEO Charles Lee told What Now Austin that the Aldrich Street location was an intentional move and the first of two locations coming to Texas in the coming months.
“It’s a very health-conscious city, very outdoorsy people. So, it was almost a no-brainer to choose Austin as our first Texas location,” Lee said.
The açaí bowl brand entrepreneur shared that the new Austin Palmetto Superfoods is at the tail end of construction and should be open to the public by November. Lee said the next stop is Houston.
The new build comes after opening several new Palmetto locations in Southern and Northern California and will live in a second-generation store, making it a relatively simple turn-and-key process.
While the build your own açaí bowls concept is not new, Palmetto continues to make a splash with its deliciously healthy treats and snack options because of its unique offerings.
“We’re a lot different from everyone else in the way we create our açaí. All the way from farming to supply chain to the end production of it,” Lee said.
Palmetto Superfoods serves authentic Brazilian açaí with no added sugars.
“That can’t be said for 99% of the other brands,” Lee said.
“So we think our acai is very special, and that’s why we’ve had a huge cult following in the Bay Area, and why we increased so fast, and it’s because of our Brazilian açaí.”
Founded in 2019 by Charles Lee, Thaís Moreira, Amanda Moreira, and Hessam Shirmohammadi, Palmetto Superfoods has quickly grown from its original focus on serving authentic Brazilian açaí to becoming a nationwide brand. Its customizable bowls have attracted influencers and community members all over the state to its California locations.
Now in Texas, Lee says he hopes to spark the same craze by offering the same menu with a slight twist. Lee said in a conversation with What Now Austin that he aspires to find specialized fruit selections in the area to offer at the sweet treat eatery.
“All Palmetto locations get fresh fruits delivered every day. But, every region may have a little bit more of a speciality, so we’ll be discovering that with Texas,” he added.
Its customizable bowls include flavor options like coconut, passion fruit mango, and their newest big draw, passion fruit guava.
The creative minds behind the beloved West Coast establishment intend to develop and dish out their smoothie profiles and matcha offerings, including matcha freezies. Like the plant-based açaí bowls, the matcha freezies will be offered as customizable bowls.
Palmetto Superfoods also sells its own spin on Nutella. While the Nutella brand is made of mostly cane sugar oils, Palmetto’s has no oil, and the only sugar component used is coconut sugar, according to the restaurateur.
“These are things we look for in our realm to make the products sweet but more on the healthier, better-for-you side,” Less said.
“We try to do delicious but healthy.”
The new Palmetto Superfoods on Aldrich Street is set to open in November. Keep an eye on the brand’s social media pages to catch the latest on their grand opening and stick with us for updates on their expansion into Texas.
