La’Son Anchor Grill food truck owners Nakia and Sonya James recently opened the doors to their new brick-and-mortar restaurant in Summerville. La’Son Cafe serves the truck’s staples — think barbecue, fresh seafood and chicken wings — along with some new additions that hint at the building’s previous tenant, Nakia told the City Paper.
La’Son took over the 120 Tupperware Drive space that was once home to Italian eatery Bella Roma, and the Jameses decided to put some of the equipment inside to good use, adding Sicilian pizza, pasta bowls and Philly-style cheesesteaks to the menu.
“The banner that was out there prior said ‘Pizza, Pasta and Cheesesteak,’ so it was really easy to do pizza,” Nakia said. “So, we added that to everything else we already do.”
The Navy veteran launched La’Son Anchor Grill food truck in 2013, popping up all over the Lowcountry before eventually adding a second truck. Nakia and Sonya have kept the food truck in operation since opening the restaurant, Nakia said.
“We sold my first trailer and used some of those funds to get the cafe,” Nakia said last week after returning to the cafe from a food truck service at the MUSC Greenway.
“It’s been a ride — you’ve gotta enjoy it and be grateful. It’s different doing both because I was really content with my trailer,” he said.
La’Son Cafe, which doubles as a commissary kitchen for local chefs, is open daily from 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. According to Nakia, the new menu additions have been a hit since opening the cafe in January.
“It pretty much gels together and when people come in the door, they have a whole lot of variety.”
For more information, visit lasoncafe.com.
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