How it started….

About Us…

Starr Andrews didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a chef — she couldn’t even cook boxed mac and cheese. School wasn’t really her thing (unless it was art class or being outside), but like most people around her, she gave college a try and went for an art degree. That didn’t quite stick either. Retail jobs weren’t it, and Starr was still figuring out what came next when her aunt gave her a firm nudge toward something unexpected: applying for a job at a new fine dining spot opening in Geneva — Halsey’s.

She landed an interview with newly hired Executive Chef Heather Tompkins and joined the opening crew in 2007 as the dishwasher. Like it often goes in restaurants, one day the salad station was short — and Starr stepped in. . As she moved onto the line, something clicked — the kitchen brought together the rhythm, creativity, and visual storytelling she loved about art. Food became her new medium, and she was all in.

From there, she kept stepping up, learning everything she could from the chefs who came through the kitchen, including Phil Yautzy and Dave Buchannan. She worked her way from salads to sauté to running the show as Executive Chef.

After more than a decade at Halsey’s, Starr took a break — or so she thought. She ended up back in the kitchen at 84 Fall, another restaurant from Halsey’s owner Peter Mitchell, where she led the kitchen team until COVID shut everything down in 2020.

She figured maybe that was it for her and restaurants.
Turns out, she was just getting started.

Starr Andrews

Elizabeth Renshaw was a bit different than Starr. Her challenge wasn’t figuring out what she wanted to do — it was narrowing it down. Chef, equine vet, wildlife biologist — it all sounded like the right path.

Raised in the heart of the Finger Lakes wine industry, Elizabeth spent much of her childhood running through vineyards and winery cellars with her younger sister. Her mom, Tricia Renshaw — featured in Evan Dawson’s Summer in a Glass — was a winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards from 2005 to 2013 before working a vintage at Hermann J. Wiemer and later launching her own label. Elizabeth tagged along everywhere, and in 2006, during a wine dinner at Fox Run, Chef Heather Tompkins handed her a knife and taught her how to julienne vegetables. Elizabeth fell hard — not just for the kitchen, but for the connection between food, wine, people, and place.

She went on to earn a degree in Environmental Science from Binghamton University, all while working as a barn manager for several equestrian facilities — a role that demanded early mornings, long days, and a lot of grit (something she’s never short on).

Her hospitality resume is just as diverse: café shifts in high school, summers running the NY Wine & Culinary Center’s food truck, a short stint at FLX Winery (where she helped epoxy the now-iconic FLX Table), and a season in the kitchen at Halsey’s. She left kitchens to hike 700 miles of the Appalachian Trail, because of course she did.

After returning from the trail, Elizabeth found herself in a surprising but perfect fit — a Salesforce consultancy called Red Argyle, where she still works today in finance and operations. The founders, Tom Patros and Garry Polmateer, built a people-first company that showed her what true leadership and employee care could look like — something she’s carried into everything she’s built since.

At a Christmas party in 2022, Bob and Donna Stivers were chatting with Starr’s parents. They’d recently purchased the former home of Stan’s Waterloo Restaurant but hadn’t yet found the right person to write its next chapter.
“Too bad Starr’s not cooking anymore,” they said.

Well… Starr probably shouldn’t have told that story to Elizabeth.
Or maybe — she absolutely should have.

Because Elizabeth knew what everyone else already suspected: Starr’s cooking deserved to be shared. And if nothing else, Elizabeth could definitely handle the paperwork.

By May 2023, the LLC was filed.
By August, the lease was signed.
And the two of them were knee-deep in liquor license applications and crash courses in how to open a restaurant from scratch.

Starr poured herself into building a thoughtful, seasonal, farm-inspired menu. Evenings were spent painting, scrubbing, and reviving a space that had sat quiet since 2019. As opening day crept closer, there was one more person they needed to tell: Mary Jo Barbay, Starr’s longtime partner-in-crime from the original Halsey’s crew.

So they popped in to the bar at Halsey’s to break the news:
“We’re opening a restaurant. Guess which one?”

“84 Fall?” she said.

“No... but let’s put a pin in that.”

The comment stuck. 84 Fall was open and operating — why would she guess that?

Well, as it turns out, 84 Fall had just become available for lease.

As they got back in the car, Starr and Elizabeth looked at each other and said — in near perfect unison —
“Two is crazy, right?”

Apparently… just crazy enough.

In November 2023, they took over management of 84 Fall.
In February 2024, Starr’s officially opened its doors.
And in June 2024, they took over 84 Fall completely — relaunching it as their second concept: Flint & Stave.

Starr’s offers a high-end, locally sourced menu — intentionally small, always rotating. On Wednesdays, we wear pink and eat pasta at Homemade Pasta & Girls’ Night. Mondays are for the crew: Work Boots & Wine brings in our food, wine, and ag industry family for a night that feels like a deep exhale. Every evening, we welcome guests from around the world — and just down the road — to gather over a simple meal, done really, really well.

Flint & Stave has grown into a cozy spot with a gastropub-style menu, led by Chef Audrey Rodriguez-Bell. Think homemade wing sauces, seafood risotto, and authentic birria. It’s the kind of place you can bring your kids for some seriously good mac and cheese — or meet a business partner over martinis.

Two turned out to be just crazy enough — and we’re so glad you’re here on this journey with us.

& We’re Horsing Around