When Nestor Bedoya is asked to describe how he was raised in Colombia, he uses food as a way to explain his ‘very humble beginnings.’
“There was never a lack of anything, but it was little portions,” Bedoya says. “A little piece of chicken, a little egg for everybody. But there was never a lack of anything.”
The food reference makes sense for a man who has made a significantly better life for himself in the United States because of it. Bedoya is the co-owner of two restaurants in Morristown, one firmly established – Chef Fredy’s Table – and the other brand new – Sabores Latinos.
For him, food is life, and it has been since he arrived here in 1996 and landed his first job in the industry.
“I worked a week at a pizza joint and made enough money to buy myself a pair of Timberland boots,” Bedoya says. “I made enough money to buy a Polo shirt, Tommy Hilfiger – things that I wanted (in Colombia) but couldn’t have.”
Bedoya and his younger brother, Luis, are two of the four owners of Sabores Latinos on Morris Street. The others are Jose Ricardo, Nestor’s brother-in-law, and Fredy Umanzor – better known in town as Chef Fredy, whose namesake restaurant on Speedwell Avenue is considered one of Morristown’s best. Umanzor has owned the restaurant along with Nestor Bedoya since 2005, when they took over what was then called Tim Schafer’s Cuisine after its owner moved to North Carolina. They rebranded it as Chef Fredy’s Table in 2014.
Luis Bedoya has been a front-of-the-house fixture at Chef Fredy’s Table for years, working his way up from busboy just like his brother did. Now, the two of them have their hands in trying to get something off the ground from scratch.
Unlike Chef Fredy’s Table, which serves distinctly modern American cuisine in a high-end setting, Sabores Latinos’ menu features strictly Latin American fixtures, served in a more modest yet colorful and fun environment. And the Bedoya brothers admit their background had everything to do with that, which makes sense, since just blocks away from Morristown’s bustling South Street and its shops and restaurants is a large Spanish-speaking community.
According to the most recent census report, 32.9 percent of Morristown’s residents are Hispanic or Latino, second only to the town’s White population (51.1 percent). So opening Sabores Latinos in Morristown was a way for its owners to reach out and connect with that part of the city.
“We wanted to bring all ethnicities, all backgrounds,” Luis Bedoya says. “Not just Latinos, but anything from Latin culture. (We wanted to) be able to bring everyone together under one roof, without the denomination of a Mexican, Colombian, or Ecuadorian restaurant. We just wanted to have something for everyone in one place.”
For Nestor, opening Sabores Latinos in Morristown went deeper than that.
“There’s a need for it,” he says. “When we identified the need for a good place, I started looking at Morristown and the diversity of this town, which is known to everybody. There’s a big Latin American population in this town. And there are only two places in town that serve rice and beans and stuff like that that are known in the town, but they’re kind of hidden places. And I didn’t want this place to be that.”
Nestor, 44, arrived in the U.S. along with his sister about a year after Luis, 42, and another of their brothers did. An older brother arrived in 1994, following their mother in 1989 and their father in 1986. Their parents scattered the arrivals so they had time to raise enough money to support each of their kids.
Once here, it did not take long for Nestor and Luis to find their way to Tim Schafer’s Cuisine, where they both worked their way up from clearing tables. Their fate changed when they were befriended by Umanzor, 61, a Salvadoran.
When asked who has influenced his career in the food industry the most, Nestor is quick to say, “Honestly, I’ve got to give it to Fredy. Chef Fredy was a big influence in terms of what I have done.”
After his humble start at the restaurant, Luis Bedoya worked for years in the banking industry while chipping in at Chef Fredy’s on weekends when he was needed. He now calls the restaurant “my backbone.” Luis says he’s “married to the business.”
“I want the best for the business,” he says. “And here I am – I own a piece of a dream come true.”
That dream come true – Sabores Latinos – is where Nestor and Luis Bedoya, Jose Ricardo, along with Fredy Umanzor, are surrounded by constant reminders of their heritage, from the logo on a menu that features 23 flags of Spanish-speaking nations, to the food, to a colorful interior brick wall featuring the face of a woman, the sun, and palm trees.
“If you look at the logo, it pretty much encompasses most of our flags where Latin flavors and Latin American cuisine are served,” Nestor Bedoya says. “Our goal is to start with this menu and gradually, as time goes by, start incorporating different dishes.”
More than three decades after leaving Colombia, Nestor is reminded of his homeland as he stands behind the counter of his new venture. Motioning toward some nearby short rib soup, he says it’s the one item on the menu that takes him back in time.
“That short rib soup that we have here – I can eat soup every single day,” he says. “I can eat soup seven days a week. I can skip everything else. But if I have a daily soup, I’m a happy camper – especially if I grab my short rib soup.”
“That one puts me over the edge!”
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We wanted to bring together all ethnicities and all backgrounds. We wanted to bring everyone together under one roof.
Honestly, I’ve got to give it to Fredy. Chef Fredy was a big influence in terms of what I have done.