Stampeding to Starlette’s Foodies hightail it to ‘nowhere’ for western-themed eatery’s Longhorn burgers and Chuckwagon fries By: David Sanderson Posted: 2:00 AM CDT Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026

ELMA — Build it and they will come.

Lee and Star Giesbrecht are the owners of Starlette’s Burger Saloon, a western-themed, outdoor eating spot situated on the married couple’s 40-acre spread, immediately north of Elma.

Seated at one of a half-dozen picnic tables that dot the grounds, Star recalls a conversation she and Lee had prior to the May 2025 grand opening of their locale, which, with its weathered-wood exterior and rustic swinging doors, wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of Yellowstone.

Because they are “literally in the middle of nowhere,” Star says Lee thought it would be advantageous to mount a TV in one corner of the kitchen, for those occasions when they’d be twiddling their thumbs for hours on end, with little to do.

Let’s just say the Giesbrechts, whose fare includes Longhorn burgers, Outlaw tacos and Chuckwagon fries, haven’t had too many opportunities to catch up on their favourite programs.

“It kind of makes me wonder where everybody ate before we arrived on the scene.”

“We got slammed with orders right out of the gate and it’s stayed that way, pretty much, ever since,” Star says, speaking loudly enough to be heard over a PA system permanently glued to a country-radio station.

“I get there aren’t that many places around here to go for a bite, but honestly, as busy as we are, it kind of makes me wonder where everybody ate before we arrived on the scene.”

Star, a member of Peguis First Nation and mother of two grown children from a previous relationship, met Lee, a father of three who was born and raised near Whitemouth, in 2022. She was living in West Kildonan but soon joined him on the farm, moving into a ranch-style bungalow bordering the Whitemouth River.

“I’d been with CFS (Child and Family Services) for close to 25 years and immediately before the saloon, I was the child-abuse co-ordinator in Jackhead,” Star says, referring to the reserve community that is part of Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation, approximately 250 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Every Monday, she would roll out of bed at 4 a.m. to make the four-hour drive from Elma to Jackhead, where she remained until Friday. It eventually reached a point where the mental stress of her position combined with the strain of being away from home so often caused her to wonder how much longer she could continue.

Lee, a truck driver who rents out a section of his property to an area canola grower, kept a number of vintage vehicles, including an old school bus. One afternoon while he and Star were discussing what she might do if she were to resign, he suggested converting the bus into a food truck of sorts, which she could operate along nearby Highway 11 during the spring and summer months.

“At first I assumed he was kidding,” she says. “I’m not saying I don’t know how to cook — I’ve always enjoyed hosting big family dinners — but the closest I ever came to the food biz was when I was 18 and worked as a bartender at places in Winnipeg like Tequila Joe’s and Boss-Q’s.”

They ultimately agreed to give it a shot, only to conclude the bus was too narrow for what Lee had in mind. Star says they likely would have shelved the notion altogether if it hadn’t been for a movie they watched that was set in the Old West. There was a scene with a saloon in the backdrop and upon noticing it, Lee exclaimed, “That’s it. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Lee spent the fall of 2024 collecting discarded barnwood from their neighbours. That winter, working off his own set of drawings, he built the restaurant from the ground up 300 metres from their house, on a patch of grass backing onto Juno Road.

Meanwhile, Star wound down her CFS career, finally calling it quits on April 1, 2025, six weeks before they officially opened for business. (Star also managed to squeeze in time on weekends to develop a menu, by perfecting recipes for burger patties, chili, chicken wraps and poutine.)

“The fact we’re off the beaten path turned out to be a real plus.”

“We originally wanted to call the place Star’s Burger Saloon but since that name was taken already, we went with Starlette’s — my full name though nobody calls me that,” she says, crediting Lee for securing a menagerie of horse buggies, saddles, cartwheels and cowboy hats that add to the site’s western feel.

Thanks to shout-outs on Facebook groups such as Manitoba Small Town Drive-ins Review, Starlette’s Burger Saloon rapidly became a destination for foodies from as far away as Brandon and Morris.

And after their Wild West burger (two beef patties, chili, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles topped with their signature “Cowboy” sauce) placed first in last August’s Winnipeg River Burger Trail competition, the resto began attracting the likes of the Thursday Night Riders motorcycle club and the Corvette Club of Manitoba, whose members displayed their respective rides in the roundabout parking area for all to see.

“We also started getting a ton of people on their way to and from the Whiteshell who’d stop and tailgate for a couple of hours,” Star says. “The parents would pull out lawn chairs and watch their kids kick soccer balls in the open field. The fact we’re off the beaten path turned out to be a real plus, with it feeling like a safe, fun environment.”

“They drive in, fly in and trot in.”

Currently halfway through their second full season — they expect to operate until the end of September, depending on the weather — the Giesbrechts haven’t stopped thinking about what else they can do to make a trip to Starlette’s a memorable experience.

In early July, they hosted their inaugural vendors’ market, with close to 20 artisans from the surrounding area setting up booths to peddle a wide variety of offerings. Lee is also designing additions to the existing structure that should be in place by the time they reopen, next year.

“A washroom is top of the list — right now we’re still dependent on porta-potties — but he’s also contemplating a general store for selling things like Burger Saloon T-shirts and a ‘jail’ for customers to get their pictures taken in,” Star says, noting their staff of seven includes her daughter Alabama and Lee’s daughter Hailey.

“In his head, Lee is imagining an entire western town and since we have the space, who knows?”

By the way, if you’re wondering whether a set of tie-up hitch posts for horses is just for show or not, the answer is neigh, err, nay. A few weeks ago, two customers arrived in style, atop a pair of twin brown steeds, Star reports.

“We’ve even had guys paraglide to the saloon. So yeah, they drive in, fly in and trot in.”

(Starlette’s Burger Saloon, 60122 Juno Rd., is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m, Thursday to Sunday.)

david.sanderson@winnipegfreepress.com