The Kauneonga Lake restaurant opened July 17 at the former Barrio Kitchen space on Horseshoe Lake Road.
For Cerna, who began working at his parents’ Rock Hill restaurant when he was 18, the new location marks a significant step.
“Honestly, it’s a blessing,” he said. “To continue my father’s legacy, opening up a second location, expanding. It’s really something that I feel a lot of gratitude towards.”
His father, Luis Cerna, opened the original El Sombrero in Rock Hill in 2018 after years working in the meat business.
Brandon Cerna said his father came to the United States at age 20 and worked at the Hunts Point Meat Market in the Bronx before building a wholesale meat-distribution business. The family later moved to Rock Hill after Sept. 11, 2001.
When El Sombrero opened there, Brandon began learning nearly every part of the operation.
“I did everything, even renovation over there,” he said. “Really from the ground up, day by day, just taking it in.”
The family had considered expanding to other areas, including Middletown and Spring Valley, before deciding to remain closer to their first restaurant.
“I don’t feel like it was a time,” Cerna said. “I think we were just looking for the right location.”
Kauneonga Lake offered several advantages, he said, including the lakefront setting, proximity to Bethel Woods and an existing customer base already traveling to Rock Hill from western Sullivan County.
“We kept hearing a lot of people were coming from Liberty, from Callicoon and all over the place, and here, White Lake,” Cerna said. “We were like, you know what, let’s put a place where people are already supporting us.”
The waterfront location also gave the family a space with an established restaurant layout, though Cerna said substantial work was still required before opening.
The family replaced flooring and worked on the walls, rebuilt the bar and reconfigured both the kitchen and dining room. They enlarged the indoor dining area while reducing the size of the kitchen and bar area.
Infrastructure issues, including HVAC work, created some challenges, Cerna said, but the overall process went relatively smoothly.
He also credited the Town of Bethel with helping the project move forward.
“They were so welcoming,” he said. “They were happy to have us, and once they heard that we were trying to come out here, they made everything possible for us.”
The new restaurant largely follows the same menu and concept as the Rock Hill location.
Some items, including salmon, ceviche, soups and chips and salsa, had not yet been added when Cerna was interviewed, though he said the restaurant plans to expand those offerings.
The family’s background in wholesale meat distribution remains central to the menu.
“All of our steaks, they’re Choice, hand-cut,” Cerna said.
He pointed to the restaurant’s sampler platter as one of its best-known offerings, combining St. Louis ribs, beef ribs, shrimp, chorizo, skirt steak, chicken breast, tortillas, rice and beans.
While the summer opening brought strong traffic, Cerna is already preparing for the challenge of operating year-round in a community with a large seasonal population.
He said one of his main plans is to enclose the patio and add heaters so the space can remain usable in colder months.
He is also considering karaoke, DJs and seasonal specials to draw customers through the winter.
“I want to keep this alive during this wintertime,” Cerna said.
The early response, he said, has been encouraging.
“Every time I talk to people, they’re so happy that we’re here,” Cerna said. “They’re like, ‘We love the place in Rock Hill, but this is a lot closer to home.’”
The Kauneonga Lake location has also given Cerna his first opportunity to manage a restaurant with greater independence after years working alongside his parents.
He said watching his father build and maintain the Rock Hill restaurant gave him a clearer idea of the difficulties involved before he took on the second location.
“I could see the challenges he went through and how he overcame them,” Cerna said.
One lesson from his parents, he said, remains especially important.
“Treat everybody as if they’re family,” Cerna said. “Treat everybody with kindness.”
The family may not be finished expanding.
Cerna said they have already received interest in another possible location, although no decision has been made.
For now, he said his focus remains on establishing Kauneonga Lake and building on what his father started.
“I gotta give praise to my father, Luis Cerna, the creator, the mind behind all this,” he said. “Without him, none of this is possible.”