Longstanding St. Armands Italian restaurant reopens under new name

The owners of Nōnnō Umberto expected a fairly quiet soft opening for the rebranded Italian restaurant on St. Armands Circle the first week of January. 

But it was anything but quiet as staff served more than 250 people on the first night, growing to 800 people over the course of the first week, according to co-owner Amber Mayner.

She and her husband, Simone Salustri, have looked forward to the opening all year. When hurricanes Helene and Milton forced the family to close Le Colonne, they didn't know what the next steps would be.

Photo by Dana Kampa

To keep the business afloat, Simone and Mayner opened an Italian food truck called Buonissimo Mobile Italian Kitchen last year. The move gave them time to figure out what to do next with the brick-and-mortar location on St. Armands Circle.

Mayner and Simone decided to reopen the restaurant under the new name, recognizing the legacy of Simone's father, Umberto Salustri, who opened the original Le Colonne.

She said they had always hoped to open around the holidays, so they were glad to finish the renovation in time for the New Year, even if it took an all-hands-on-deck push to get there.

"It feels like a dream come true that we did it, we made it," she said. "We had a big team to help us."

Simone added, "We worked from 6 a.m. to midnight for a month. It was sometimes one step forward, two steps back. But we did it."

Holiday spirit helped them get through the final stages of construction. Even before they painted the walls, Simone found a frosted Christmas tree to place in the center of the dining room. Their vision for the restaurant gradually came to life around it, and the team held the soft opening Dec. 29.

Mayner noted that the rebranded restaurant isn't exactly the same as Le Colonne. The team is excited to share what the new menu has to offer for diners, especially the beloved Italian dishes that showcase seafood, like the ravioli aragosta (lobster ravioli).

Photo by Dana Kampa

She added that one of the best parts of reopening has been seeing the joy on Umberto Salustri's face upon seeing the restaurant bustling once again.