When you move somewhere new, there are certain things you have to figure out.
Where’s the grocery store?
What’s the quickest way to get into town?
Which back road actually saves time—and which one just looks like it should? 😂
And, perhaps most importantly…
Where are we going to eat?
Since moving to Taylorsville, my husband and I have spent a lot of time exploring Bartow County and getting to know the places that make this area feel like home.
Somewhere along the way, Modern Sports Restaurant in Cartersville became one of our places.
And I don’t think we ever officially decided that.
It just happened.
🍺 You Know You’ve Found “Your Place” When…
You know the kind of restaurant I’m talking about.
The first time you walk in, you’re a customer.
Then you come back.
And come back again.
Eventually, you start recognizing the people working there. They start recognizing you. You settle into your favorite spot, order a beer and suddenly realize:
Well, apparently we come here now. 😂
That’s been Modern Sports for us.
It’s located on South Tennessee Street in Cartersville, and the restaurant describes itself as a casual place to catch a game, meet friends, have a beer and enjoy some good food. There are TVs throughout, a full bar and exactly the kind of laid-back atmosphere you’d expect from a neighborhood sports restaurant.
But what keeps bringing us back isn’t simply the TVs or what’s behind the bar.
It’s how the place feels.
❤️ That Small-Town Feeling
There’s something I appreciate more and more about living in a smaller community.
You start seeing familiar faces.
People actually talk to one another.
You walk into a local restaurant and don’t feel like you’re being processed through Table 14 so somebody can flip it for Table 15.
Modern has that comfortable, unpretentious feeling.
You can stop in for dinner, sit at the bar for a beer, catch whatever game happens to be on, talk to the people around you and just hang out.
The restaurant itself says its customers are its top priority, and in our experience, the friendly staff is a big part of why we continue going back. That’s also something other diners frequently mention when talking about the restaurant.
There’s something to be said for walking into a place and simply feeling welcome.
🍔 And Then There’s the Food…
Of course, warm fuzzy community feelings will only carry a restaurant so far.
You still have to feed me. 😂
Fortunately, Modern has that part covered too.
This isn’t one of those restaurants where the menu gives you four choices and expects you to be excited about it.
There is a LOT to choose from.
The current menu includes everything from wings, burgers and the signature Modern Philly Cheesesteak to Reubens, a shrimp po’ boy, quesadillas, salads, fish and chips, catfish and a pretty impressive selection of appetizers. There are also pizzas—including some combinations that go well beyond plain pepperoni.
Basically, if one person wants wings, somebody wants a burger and somebody else wants pizza, nobody has to negotiate.
That’s a successful marriage dinner right there.
And the wings deserve their own mention because the number of sauce choices is borderline dangerous for an indecisive person.
You’ve got classics along with flavors like Carolina Gold, Mango Habanero, Hot Honey Garlic, Parmesan Garlic, Sweet Chili, Nashville Hot and several levels of “How much do you enjoy having functioning taste buds?” hot. 😂
🍺 Now Let’s Talk About the Beer
A good neighborhood sports restaurant needs good beer.
Those are the rules.
And one of the things my husband and I enjoy about Modern is the selection of draft beer.
There’s just something about sitting down in a casual local place, ordering a cold draft beer and realizing you don’t particularly need to be anywhere else for a while.
Modern has a full bar in addition to its beer offerings, which makes it an easy place to meet friends, have dinner or settle in when there’s a game you want to watch.
It’s not fancy.
It’s not trying to be fancy.
And that’s exactly why we like it.
🏡 Sometimes “Home” Isn’t Your House
This is the part that I think gets overlooked when we talk about moving.
As a real estate agent, I can help someone find bedrooms, bathrooms, acreage, a certain school district or a particular commute.
But those things aren’t the whole story of where you live.
Eventually you have to build a life there.
You find the grocery store where you always shop.
The coffee place where they start remembering your order.
The road you take when you want to see something pretty.
The restaurant where you walk through the door and recognize somebody.
Those little things are what turn an address into a community.
And for us, Modern Sports Restaurant has become one of those little pieces of our new life here.
❤️ Why Local Places Matter
One of the things I want to do with Front Porch Rachel is introduce people to more than houses.
I want to talk about what it’s actually like to live here.
The restaurants.
The small businesses.
The parks.
The weird little places you only learn about after you’ve lived somewhere for a while.
The people.
Because those are the things that give a community its personality.
You can Google “restaurants near me” and get a list.
But a list doesn’t tell you which restaurant eventually becomes your restaurant.
For my husband and me, Modern Sports has become one of those places.
Good food.
Cold draft beer.
Friendly people.
No fuss.
And that comfortable little feeling of:
“Yep. We belong here.”
If you’ve never been, Modern Sports Restaurant is at 203 South Tennessee Street in Cartersville. You can check out the current menu and restaurant information on their official website.
And if you’re already a regular, I want to know:
What’s your go-to order?
Because apparently we’re going back. 😂
And if you have another Bartow County restaurant that has that same “everybody’s welcome, come on in” feeling, tell me about that one too.
I’m always looking for the next place to pull up a chair.
Real Estate. Real Life. Rachel. ❤️
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