theLAKER | 23 Grads find their fit in downtown Geneva Two alumni are among the Geneva restaurateurs who braved the economic volatility of the last few years with a mix of innovation and hard work. Teresa Cerino ’05 left a teaching job in Texas to join her partner, James Brown, when he bought Water Street Cafe right before the pandemic. “I’m here because I fell in love with a boy who bought a restaurant,” Teresa mused. Just 300 feet away and around the corner, Shawna Shell ’15 and her fiancé, Mike Pavone, opened Anorah Restaurant in March 2023 on Castle Street, at the site of the former Red Dove Tavern. James had cooked and managed Water Street Cafe since 2010 and bought the diner, a longtime Geneva fixture, at the end of 2019. Business boomed for two months, then COVID-19 hit. With James' expertise in the kitchen and Teresa’s promotional work, the pair navigated the pandemic with new opportunities. They contracted with the National Guard to serve breakfast and lunch to service members stationed in Geneva. Teresa used social media to attract hungry customers and worked with DoorDash to make a fully customizable menu so customers could feel like they were ordering from a waitress. More recently, they hosted the Australian competitive eater and social media influencer James Webb, known as J Webby Can Eat. The couple also focuses on relationships, whether checking in on regulars, feeding the 31 hockey players from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, or helping community members in need. “It really is more than just a diner,” Teresa said. “This is a community place.” Shawna earned a bachelor’s in public health education at SUNY Brockport after transferring from FLCC. While working at Red Dove Tavern, she realized she had a passion for restaurants. At Anorah, Shawna and Mike provide an ever-changing menu with fresh seasonal ingredients. They have collaborated with local wineries like Trestle 31 to put on wine dinners and introduced flights of bao buns, a fluffy steamed dough usually filled with meat or vegetables. Shawna’s vision includes expanding the restaurant’s outdoor seating and doing occasional off-site events. She credits her experiences at FLCC and Brockport for helping her develop the confidence she needed to run a restaurant. It was important for her, she said, to know “someone believed in me at some point.” Shawna Shell ’15 and Mike Pavone James Brown and Teresa Cerino ’05 Tracey Dello Stritto, president and CEO of the Ontario County Chamber of Commerce; Sarah Moon ’98, FLCC director of library learning resources; Jennie Erdle-Krampen, FLCC director of student life; and Randy Farnsworth, ATHENA sponsor, pose at the November ATHENA event. Sarah was one of seven nominees for the 2023 ATHENA Leadership Award. The award recognizes one woman each year for excelling in her profession, community involvement, and encouragement of other women leaders.
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