Thursday, July 15, 2010, 11:00pm CDT | Modified: July 15, 2010, 11:00 PM

Restaurateur casts Latino culinary shadow

by Francisco Vara-Orta

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James Cameron Lockley, a protégé of prominent Austin restaurateur Eddie Bernal, is hoping to step out of his mentor’s shadow and into his own with a new Latin American cuisine restaurant, La Sombra Bar & Grill.

La Sombra, Spanish for “The Shadow,” is slated to open July 27 at 4800 Burnet Road. It will offer a variety of drinks and foods prepared and presented in an upscale fashion that plucks dishes from mostly from Central and South America — a growing niche for foodies. And while Bernal is a co-owner, the 28-year-old Lockley is La Sombra’s ringmaster, both said.

During his sophomore year studying accounting at the University of Texas, Lockley said he “fell in love” with food and wine and co-founded a group within the business school called the Undergraduate Restaurant Association, which invited local Austin restaurant owners and chefs to meet with the group and talk about their businesses. It was six years ago that Bernal — owner of the Whole Enchilada LLC, which owns Blue Star Cafeteria, Santa Rita Tex-Mex Cantina and 34th Street Café — came to speak to the group and first connected with Lockley.

The two stayed in contact as Lockley returned to his native Dallas to start his career after getting an accounting degree, working for international accounting firm Deloitte & Touche on large restaurant accounts such as Chuck E. Cheese. But wanting a more hands-on experience, he moved to Houston, where he gained operational restaurant experience at Ibiza restaurant, owned by his cousin, Grant Cooper.

“With a college degree and good income, I did get some looks from my family and friends who thought I was crazy giving up that job and instead waiting tables and working in a restaurant,” Lockley said. “But being in that environment was the root of my passion, and I felt I needed that experience to better prepare me for the future — such as this role with La Sombra.”

Lockley moved back to Austin in 2009, and Bernal hired him as the café manager of 34th Street Café.

“I think after listening to Cameron’s ideas, I’ve become his protégé in a way,” said

Bernal, who’s been in the restaurant industry for 30 years. “Cameron has a very strong, deep passion for the hospitality restaurant industry and thinks it should serve the public well. He likes to be well-rounded.”

The two formed a partnership, Mi Encanto Enterprises LLC, and developed La Sombra’s concept after both agreed there was a lack of Latin American cuisine diversity in Austin. The two co-own La Sombra equally.

“Most people tend to think of Latin American cuisine as Tex-Mex, Cali-Mex or Mexican, because that is what is closest to us,” Bernal said. “But each Latin American country has its own unique cuisine, and most have regional cuisines that are often ignored by mainstream America000. But I think that’s changing. We’re hoping to be part of this new movement of Pan-American cuisine.”

Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based restaurant-research firm Technomic, said market data on the Pan-American cuisine in the United States is nearly nonexistent. But with the success of Pan-Asian cuisine, La Sombra’s concept could be the next trendsetter.

In Austin, besides Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants, there are about a dozen restaurants that serve cuisine from Latin American nations. But most serve food only from one nation, such as El Salvador, Honduras, Brazil or Argentina, whereas La Sombra offers a sampling throughout Latin America.

Lockley said the restaurant also relies on the deep expertise of its staff, such as La Sombra’s executive chef Julio-Cesar Florez, who hails from Peru, and general manager Raul Escobar, a native of Chile. The menu’s offerings include chicharrónes, which is pork belly, various meats such as steak and sausages from throughout South America, and an extensive menu of ceviches and zesty pisco cocktails, which are made from grapes and accented by limes and lemons.

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