Built around three authentic pillars, tapioca sandwiches, açaí bowls, and pão de queijo, TAP has grown from a single Upper West Side counter, founded in New York City in 2017, into five cafés across Manhattan, Queens, and Miami. Its newest location recently opened in NoMad, right on Fifth Avenue. The brand is now expanding nationwide through corporate stores and franchising.
Pedro, CEO, leads TAP’s brand, creative strategy, and expansion vision. Before joining TAP as CEO in 2022, he spent more than a decade in communications and live marketing, working at agencies including Santa Clara and Africa in Brazil and managing major national accounts. Cleo, COO, has led TAP’s day-to-day operations since 2018, building the training systems and standards that keep hospitality consistent across every location. This work earned him a Forbes Under 30 Brazil nomination for operational excellence.
Together, the “TapBrothers” sum up TAP’s mission simply: Eat Well. Do Good. Live Better.
What first interested you in your area of the hospitality industry?
Pedro: My background is in branding and storytelling. Years spent helping other companies tell their stories through advertising made me want to build something where the story and the guest experience were the product itself. Brazilian hospitality, the idea that food is how you make someone feel like family, felt like the natural next chapter.
Cleo: For me, it started on the ground floor, literally, inside the kitchen and behind the counter. I love the operational side, building the protocols and systems that allow a small team to deliver a genuinely great, consistent experience to every guest, every single day.
Who are a few of the people that have encouraged your career?
Family comes first — our mom, Violeta, our dad, Fernando, and our middle brother, João “Tata,” have all played a huge part in who we are today, with inspiration, motivation, and support every step of the way. Our grandfather, Cleofas Uchôa, whom Cleo is named after, was a beautiful, gentle man who taught us to have patience in life — and to always look up at the stars and never stop being curious.
What challenges do you think people face in your industry?
People and consistency at scale are the hardest parts of hospitality: keeping the same warmth, speed, and food quality whether you’re serving your 10th guest of the day or your 1,000th, whether you’re on the Upper West Side or in Brickell. Add to that the operational discipline it takes to run a 100% gluten-free kitchen without a single slip, rising costs across the supply chain, and building a people-first culture in an industry known for high turnover. Those are the challenges we think about every day as we grow.
Pedro Uchôa and Cleofas “Cleo” Uchôa
Can you cite a few accomplishments that have given you great pride and elevated your work?
Winning the “Perfect Pitch” award at the 2025 Fast Casual Executive Summit, where we were the first Brazilian brand to participate and win in the award’s 25-year history, brought a 100% gluten-free concept in front of some of the most diverse, respected names in the industry. Opening our fifth café in NoMad this August is a statement in its own right and one we’re incredibly proud of. On a personal note, Cleo’s nomination to the Forbes Under 30 Brazil list recognizes the systems work that keeps every TAP running the same way, every day. Above all, building a menu that’s 100% gluten-free without ever asking guests to compromise on flavor and having the celiac and gluten-free community trust us for it.
What piece of advice can you lend to others who are considering your career?
Be curious and adaptable. You have to understand your guests and what the market actually needs, not just what you assume it wants. And protect your standards before you protect your growth. For us, that meant refusing to compromise on being 100% gluten-free, even when it made sourcing, training, and real estate harder. It’s exactly what built the trust and loyalty that let us grow. Systems and culture always pay you back.
Everyone who works in hospitality has a story to tell about something incredible that happened on the job. What’s one that you often tell?
Not long after we opened in Brickell, a guest came in on an ordinary day and told me she’d driven more than an hour from Weston just because we’re 100% gluten-free and that even if the drive had been two hours, she still would have come. Then she started crying, right there, telling us what it meant to finally order freely without ever worrying about cross-contamination. That moment has stayed with us. It’s the story we tell the team whenever we need a reminder of how much every single guest is carrying with them when they walk through our door.
What do you hope people understand about those who work in your area of hospitality?
That going fast and going gluten-free doesn’t mean giving anything up, not flavor, not culture, not genuine hospitality. Behind every “quick” counter order is a whole operation built on discipline: training, food safety, sourcing, and a team that genuinely cares whether you leave happy. We’re in the people business first; the food and the growth follow from that.
Is there anything else you want Woman Around Town readers to know?
TAP is a wellness-driven Brazilian café, 100% gluten-free across every location and every dish: Upper West Side, Midtown East, Astoria, Brickell, and our newest café on Fifth Avenue in NoMad. Readers can find us at www.eattap.co and @eat_tap on Instagram and follow our national expansion at eattap.co/franchise.
Photo Credit: TAP
