Brandon Evans and Christina Gandy, Owners, Overlook Coffee Company — Burdett, NY | Southern Finger Lakes
Christina Gandy will be the first to tell you she never planned to live in a town of 200 people.
She grew up in San Antonio, Texas — big city, big energy, the kind of place where you can go years without really knowing your neighbors. Her husband Brandon Evans is from Odessa, New York, about fifteen minutes from where they’d eventually plant roots in Burdett, NY, but Christina had only ever known cities. When the two of them started talking seriously about the future, a tiny village in the Southern Finger Lakes tucked between Watkins Glen and Ithaca wasn’t exactly the first place that came to mind.
“I never thought I’d live in a small town,” she said. “I honestly thought it might be boring.”
She was completely wrong.
A Region That Gets Under Your Skin
Christina and Brandon both attended Syracuse University, which is how she first got to know the Finger Lakes — through visits to Brandon’s family, lazy summers on Seneca Lake, and the particular pull the region has on people who spend enough time here. “There’s truly nothing like summertime on Seneca Lake,” she said. The plan, for a while, was to split their time between Texas and New York. Snowbirds with a lake view.
Then an opportunity came along, and it changed everything.
In the summer of 2024, Christina and Brandon opened Overlook Coffee Company at 3825 Main St. in the Village of Burdett, New York — a small-batch coffee shop roasting their own beans in-house, pulling espresso, and serving ice cream in a historic small-town storefront on the western edge of Schuyler County. Brandon, who works remotely as an aerospace engineer by day, serves as the head roaster. Christina, who also works remotely as the Director of Operations for a multi-location bakery, runs the day-to-day. The two of them do it all.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies,” she said. “The days can be long and exhausting. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons. When we’re in the shop serving locals and tourists alike, it has a way of making you feel fulfilled — like you’ve finally found the missing piece, the one that truly fills your cup.”
Running a Small Business in Burdett, NY
A typical day starts early. Brandon heads to the shop around 6:45 a.m. to get everything open, then slips back home by 9 to sit at his engineering desk until 5. Christina comes in at 9 and stays through closing, usually around 3, all while managing her other remote job alongside the shop. In the evenings, the two of them roast and fulfill coffee orders together. About five days a week, that’s the rhythm. Tuesdays, they’re closed. At least one weekend day, they try to breathe.
“We’ve found a rhythm that works for us,” she said. “Our hope is to eventually shift into running Overlook full-time. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working toward it every day.”
What she didn’t anticipate was how much the community would show up for them. Burdett has roughly 200 residents — most of the homes are historic, and in recent years younger people have been moving in, opening businesses, and bringing new energy to the village. Christina has felt that shift firsthand.
“I actually know our neighbors, which is something I had never experienced before,” she said. “People here have a way of making you feel like you genuinely belong. They show up to support you, no matter what. Even on a snow day, they still come out — sometimes even bringing a snowplow just to make sure your driveway is cleared.”
What Small-Town Life in the Southern Finger Lakes Actually Looks Like
The contrast to city life is not lost on her. Opening a coffee shop in San Antonio would have meant steeper rent, more competition, a higher cost of everything. Here in the Southern Finger Lakes, she knows the person who provides the milk. She knows the artist who makes the pottery for their mugs. The connections that feel abstract in a big city are concrete here — person to person, business to business, neighbor to neighbor.
“That kind of connection is something that feels much harder to achieve in a big-city setting,” she said.
Beyond the shop, Christina and Brandon spend their time the way a lot of people who truly love the Finger Lakes spend it — drinking great wine, eating well, boating on Seneca Lake, hiking through the Finger Lakes National Forest nearby. “Once you live here, you gain this deep well of knowledge about the wine industry that you just don’t get from the outside,” she said. “It really makes you realize what a hidden gem this place is.”
Thinking About Relocating to the Finger Lakes? Here’s Her Advice.
For anyone thinking about making a similar move to the Southern Finger Lakes, Christina has advice that’s simple and a little counterintuitive: go sit somewhere and talk to a stranger.
“Go to your local coffee shop, brewery, or winery, sit down, and spark a conversation with the people around you,” she said. “I know it’s not always the most comfortable thing to do, but it’s how you learn to connect with the community. This is exactly how we’ve met so many of the people we now call friends.”
And for anyone still on the fence?
“Just take the chance,” she said. “You won’t know until you try. Stepping outside of your comfort zone can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.”
Christina Gandy and Brandon Evans own and operate Overlook Coffee Company at 3825 Main St. in Burdett, NY — serving in-house roasted coffee, espresso drinks, and ice cream in the heart of the Southern Finger Lakes. Open Wednesday through Monday.