Carrie Flanagan-Watson got a preview of what her retirement would look like over Christmas Break last year, and she didn’t like it.
“I was sitting on the couch watching TV, eating cookies and ice cream. I thought if I do this when I retire, I am so up a creek,” recalled Flanagan-Watson, who teaches biology, chemistry and physics in Belfast.
Canisteo’s Killbuck Inn was shut down around the same time, leaving the popular establishment with an uncertain future heading into 2026.
After some deliberations, Flanagan-Watson and her husband, Dean, decided the time was right for them to take on a new adventure and dive into the restaurant business.
The couple reopened the Killbuck in mid-March to much appreciation from a Canisteo Valley community thrilled to have its hometown restaurant back.
“We’re thankful the community has embraced us as much as they have,” Flanagan-Watson said. “I’m completely amazed at how people are just so excited that the Killbuck is back open. They love it.
“They’ve been coming for decades. People talk about the history of it. I never realized the extent of the role it played in the community.”
The Killbuck Inn has been a Canisteo fixture since 1949. The Watsons are mindful of paying tribute to that history as they settle into their role leading the Killbuck forward. Though they reside in the Alfred area, the couple were longtime customers of the Inn.
“We’ve reverted back to how Charise and Kevin (Mazanec) had it. We’re a restaurant that has a bar in it,” Flanagan-Watson said. “It’s about the restaurant and the food and the experience of coming in and seeing your neighbors, talking to people and enjoying a good meal in peace and quiet.”
The Killbuck is now open from 4:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and from 4-9 p.m. on Friday.
The menu, which varies slightly each day, has many familiar favorites and much of the staff has returned, including cook Tina Mehlenbacher. The Killbuck is awaiting its liquor license.
“We have an awesome staff. We got lucky,” Flanagan-Watson said. “Everyone that works for us is an awesome human being.”
Dean, a former highway superintendent, beat Carrie to retirement and has been working on some updates to the building. Carrie said the Killbuck will explore some additions to the menu in the future, perhaps after the school year or after she retires from teaching in December.
In the meantime, the Killbuck has “been busy all the time” since reopening last month, with some regulars in two or three times a week.
“Interacting with customers has been amazing. They’re so thankful that we’re open and we have gone back to what it was,” Flanagan-Watson said. “Working with vendors has been very nice and they’ve been very helpful figuring stuff out.
“The community support has been just amazing. There’s wonderful, down to earth people who come in to eat. They want a good meal for a fair price, and they want to be treated with respect. It has been quite nice.”
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Killbuck Inn has new ownership, fresh vision for Canisteo restaurant
Reporting by Chris Potter, Hornell Evening Tribune / The Evening Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
