Alabama-based chef shares passion for food with tacos at new Columbus restaurant
When Arnita Admore, known as Chef Nita, retired from work in food service as a chef after 25 years, she wanted to open a business selling subs in Fort Mitchell.
So, Admore created La’ Sammich in 2021, with her son and his best friend delivering the food in their neighborhood.
Then, one day, she just made tacos.
“People were like, ‘Oh, these tacos are really good,’” Admore told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Admore is not Mexican, and she wasn’t trying to make authentic tacos. But as a chef, she found passion in cooking food she enjoys. She periodically has made specials featuring different types of food, such as ribs and Jamaican cuisine.
La’ Sammich is an expression of Admore’s love and passion for food, she said, and the food should speak for itself when customers try it.
When the tacos gained popularity, she decided to focus her business’ cuisine around her tacos. And as for the unique name, Admore has a simple explanation.
“I had already registered the business,” she said. “Well, I’m not changing it.”
The La’ Sammich food truck opened in January 2024. On Aug. 29 this year, Admore opened the restaurant at 4820 Armour Road in Columbus.
“I just want to be a positive add-on to the community of food in Columbus,” she said.
Inside La’ Sammich
La’ Sammich’s location used to be a beauty salon, Admore said.
One of her friends told her about the space. When she visited, the landlord already knew about her food truck.
“’Oh, my God, we’d love to have you here,’” Admore recalled the landlord telling her.
Admore built the restaurant out of a blank space. There wasn’t any infrastructure for a restaurant, so she’s been working on it since November.
The restaurant is carry-out only.
When customers walk in, they will find a variety of snacks available for purchase. Those were her daughter’s idea, Admore said.
She suggested selling snacks that other food service businesses don’t have. So she looked at a magazine and they began picking out options.
Where other places might have cake slices, La’ Sammich has Rice Krispies Treats and Asian snacks
“It may not make sense,” Admore said. “But so far, the customers love it.”
A look at the menu
La’ Sammich features a full menu with vegan and vegetarian options. This was inspired by Admore’s daughter, who is pescatarian.
“There’s always that friend who goes out and can’t eat anything because there’s nothing vegan or vegetarian on the menu,” she said. “So, I wanted to provide some options to that community.”
Admore is also considering people with other dietary restrictions. She is planning to add sugar-free options to her menu as well.
Among the tacos, the brisket taco is a popular option, Admore said.
She originally is from Maryland, so she wanted to make sure the menu catered to the demographics of people in the South.
“I wanted to be able to take something that was familiar, like a brisket sandwich and a pulled pork barbecue sandwich, and turn it into a taco,” Admore said.
New customers should try the taco sampler, she said, which comes with steak, chicken and brisket tacos.
The meals come with sauces and Mexican street corn on the side. La’ Sammich’s sauces are made in-house.
The green cilantro crema sauce is built for the steak taco, she said, and the orange chipotle sour cream sauce is for the chicken taco. There isn’t a sauce for the brisket taco because it already has barbecue sauce on it.
Admore encourages people eating at small restaurants to have an open mind about trying new foods. Sometimes customers want to order things they might find at Taco Bell or Chipotle, Admore said, but La’ Sammich is offering something new and unique.
“Give us space to be creative because that’s where the new ideas are born,” she said. “And we don’t always have the same resources as some of these big chains.”
She aims for La’ Sammich to not only offer good customer service but also quick service. People visit the restaurant on their lunch break, which might be only 30 minutes to an hour. Admore doesn’t want all of that time spent waiting for the food.
Along with the food truck, La’ Sammich also is on DoorDash and Grubhub, Admore said.
“It’s just me expressing my love for passion and customer service with food,” she said. “I want everybody to have a good experience.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 1:44 PM.
