Bernardo's brings fresh take on Southwestern cuisine to Kennesaw

Jan. 2—A familiar name in the Kennesaw dining scene is back, this time with a new restaurant offering a fresh take on Mexican and Southwestern cuisine.

Bernardo's Modern-Mex, owned by Brett and Laura Olszeski, is now open in downtown Kennesaw. It takes the place of Trackside Grill, which the Olszeski family owned and operated for 20 years.

A recent remodel brought Bernardo's to life in the former Trackside space. The new restaurant includes a spacious dining room and an indoor patio with a fireplace. A planned rooftop bar is supposed to open sometime in the spring.

Bernardo's is a return to Brett Olszeski's roots in the restaurant industry, which he said was some time in the making.

"I started my career in the restaurant industry working for Southwestern and Mexican restaurants, way back in the '80s," Brett Olszeski said. "It's always been a dream, and I think the pandemic made me slow down and really think about what we were doing, and I decided the time was now to move forward with this concept."

The "family" in this family business is also connected to the cuisine: Brett and wife Laura met in a Mexican restaurant.

Bernardo's may sound familiar to another restaurant the Olszeski family owns and operates across the street: Bernie's Social Bar, which has been open in downtown Kennesaw for five years.

Brett Olszeski explained that "Bernie" is a family name, and Bernardo a Spanish variation of the name: Brett's father was named Bernard, Brett's middle name is Bernard, and Brett's brother is named Bernie.

"He loved the name, I guess," Brett said of his father, with a chuckle.

Like Trackside, where the family's oldest daughter, Brittany, and son Brandon got their start in the business, Bernardo's and Bernie's are also family affairs.

Brandon Olszeski serves as the culinary director at both restaurants, while his sister, Zoie, is a bartender at Bernie's.

Brett said Bernardo's is not your typical Tex-Mex. The restaurant's main culinary influences come not from Texas but from Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico.

"There's a little hybrid of everything in there," Brett said. "I kind of just threw it all in a pot and we're trying to do little samples of each region."

All of the food is fresh, and some highlights include layered blue corn enchiladas with sides of rice and beans ($17 for chicken, $19 for skirt steak), housemade pork tamales ($18), pan seared red snapper with cilantro chimichurri ($28) and marinated lamb shank with ancho chile sauce ($28).

Brett Olszeski added that he hopes to serve as many as 40 different tequilas at Bernardo's. The freshness, Brett said, extends to the restaurant's margaritas, which use organic juices.

Brandon Olszeski, who will be dividing his time between Bernie's and Bernardo's, said the restaurants are "two different animals."

"I'm new to the Mexican, or I should say, Southwest scene, but I'm definitely enjoying the earthy tones," Brandon said. "Like you'll see in our specialities section, it's not your typical Mexican restaurant cuisine, and that's what I love about it. It's true flavors of (the) Southwest."

Bernardo's is now open at 2840 Main St. in downtown Kennesaw, Tuesday-Thursday from 4-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4-10 p.m. and Sunday from 4-9 p.m.