Welcome to sumnall. Yes, it’s my word for the liminal space between summer and fall. It is truly the best time of the year.
It seems like every sunrise this past week has wept pink over the last of the ripe tomatoes and juicy figs.
On my morning drives into the office — crisp, dewy mornings warm up into sunny, crackling hot days. And the food. Good grief. It’s the best of both worlds for a few precious weeks.
And that’s where Cesario’s Pizzeria comes in.
I sat on the patio last week with a friend and ordered a warm pizza covered in fig jam, goat cheese and copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil. The salty prosciutto ribboned its way through peppery arugula greens, and the balsamic glaze crisscrossed the pizza like lines on a map.
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This was a sumnall meal at its finest.
Charlie Eich opened Cesario’s in Rossville last year, and it’s been winning people over ever since. Eich and his wife, Renee, also own River Drifters, the restaurant that serves blackened catfish and ice-cold beer tucked into the warm embrace of the valley.
Cesario’s Pizzeria
— Address: 321 Mcfarland Ave. Rossville
— Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday
— Price: $10-$24
— Contact: 706-841-7499
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But Cesario’s hails from a different region, inspired by Eich’s Italian ancestry. The meatballs are even made from his grandmother’s recipe. Todd Schremp told me over the phone that he collaborates with Eich on the menu.
Those dishes range from the salads to pastas to cannolis. The humble house salad is a fresh bowl of romaine and arugula topped with tangy black olives, fire roasted tomatoes and cheese sprinkled like confetti on top. The skillet baked tortellini and chicken is a little dish of comfort. Anytime pasta is served to me in a skillet and covered with an additional layer of cheese, my faith in humanity is restored. Schremp said he also makes a gluten-free dough in-house, and any pizza can be substituted with this flour for a $2 up charge. If you have a dairy allergy, you can also request a pizza sans cheese.
Cesario’s offers live music on Friday nights, where you can sit at a high-top and order a glass of Prosecco while you soak up the fleeting beauty of warm days and cool nights. That space when the bounty of summer is tucked into warmer and heartier dishes — I’m telling you, this is the sumnall calling card.
Contact restaurants reporter Lyric Lewin at llewin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6215.
Staff photo by Lyric Lewin / The patio of Cesario’s Pizzeria is seen on Aug. 26, 2025.
Dining and Cooking