Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Painter.
Hi Ethan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Waypoint started with a desire to invest in St. Johns and create a place where people could gather over great coffee. My business partner, Davey, and I saw an opportunity to contribute to our downtown and build something that would become part of everyday life here.
We were drawn to the character and history of the old F.C. Mason building. There’s something special about giving an old space new life while preserving what makes it unique. It felt like the right setting for the kind of coffee shop we wanted to create: warm, welcoming, and rooted in the community.
We opened in February 2020. A few weeks later, the pandemic changed everything. We were still learning how to run a coffee shop when we suddenly had to figure out how to navigate closures, restrictions, and a very uncertain future. It was a challenging beginning, but the support of our community helped us keep going.
Julie, who has managed the shop since day one, has been a huge part of building Waypoint into what it is today. She’s poured years of work into caring for our customers, leading our team, and making the shop a welcoming place. In 2025, she became a co-owner alongside Davey and me, which felt like a natural next step given everything she had already invested in it.
Through all of that, three core values have guided everything we do: excellence, care, and beauty. Excellence means taking our craft seriously and paying attention to the details, from the coffee we serve to the way we serve it. Care shapes how we treat our customers, support our team, and serve our neighbors. Beauty matters because the spaces we spend time in affect us. We want Waypoint to be a thoughtfully designed, inviting place where people enjoy spending time.
Over the past six years, we’ve continued to learn, refine what we offer, and grow alongside our customers. What means the most to me is seeing Waypoint become a familiar part of people’s lives. It’s their morning stop, their place to meet a friend, or somewhere to settle in and work for a few hours.
We believe a good coffee shop can contribute a lot to a town. It gives people a reason to slow down, spend time together, and enjoy being where they are. We’re proud to be part of downtown St. Johns, and we want to keep building a place that serves our neighbors well, one cup and one conversation at a time.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Opening in February 2020 meant we were only a few weeks into business when the pandemic hit. We had envisioned a place where people could gather, and suddenly gathering was the very thing people couldn’t do. Navigating that uncertainty while still getting a new business off the ground was a difficult way to begin.
Another challenge has been learning how to make the business financially sustainable while delivering the experience we believe in. Great ingredients, a beautiful space, and a team that cares all require investment. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes to make something as simple as meeting a friend for coffee feel effortless.
We’ve also had to learn that loving the vision for a business and knowing how to operate it well are two different things. Building systems, making thoughtful decisions about our menu and hours, and supporting our staff have all been part of that process. We haven’t gotten every decision right, but we’ve continued learning and making adjustments.
Our core values of excellence, care, and beauty help guide those decisions. When things get difficult, they give us something steady to return to. How do we serve this well? How does this affect our team and our customers? Does this contribute to the kind of place we set out to build?
We’re grateful for the people who have kept showing up, especially our staff and regular customers. Their support has helped us through the challenging seasons and reminds us why the work is worth doing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Waypoint Coffee Co?
Waypoint Coffee Co. is a locally owned coffee shop in downtown St. Johns, Michigan. We serve specialty coffee and espresso drinks, along with breakfast and lunch, in a historic space where people can settle in and enjoy themselves.
Three core values drive everything we do: excellence, care, and beauty. For us, those values belong together. A great drink matters, but so does the welcome you receive and the space you enjoy it in. We want the whole experience to feel thoughtful, from how your coffee is prepared to how you’re treated when you walk through the door.
When we talk about excellence, we recognize that it starts long before the coffee reaches us. Farmers around the world plant, nurture, and harvest the coffee we get to serve. Their knowledge, patience, and hard work make everything that follows possible. We have a responsibility to honor that work by preparing and serving their coffee well.
Our roasting partner, Passenger Coffee in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has helped us do that since day one. Their support has gone well beyond supplying excellent coffee. They’ve helped us choose equipment, think through menu pricing, maintain our equipment, and train our team. Having a partner willing to share that depth of knowledge has been a huge part of our growth.
We take our coffee seriously, and we want people to feel comfortable ordering whatever they enjoy. Whether you love a straightforward cup of coffee or prefer a flavored latte, we want to serve you something excellent. Our breakfast and lunch offerings give people another reason to stay a little longer or meet someone downtown for a meal.
Our setting is also a big part of Waypoint’s character. Being in the old F.C. Mason building connects us to the history of St. Johns. We’ve tried to create a space that honors that character while feeling warm and inviting. Beauty is something people should get to enjoy in ordinary life, including over their morning coffee.
What I’m most proud of is the hospitality our team brings to that space. Remembering someone’s name, learning their usual order, or taking a moment to make a new guest feel welcome can make a real difference in someone’s day. Our team makes that happen.
If there’s one thing I’d want readers to know, it’s that Waypoint is worth taking a little time for. Come meet a friend, bring your family for breakfast, or stop in while exploring downtown St. Johns. We’d love to serve you.
What were you like growing up?
I was homeschooled growing up and was always creative and full of ideas. Music was a big part of my life. I took piano lessons for 11 years and later picked up guitar. I enjoyed having something to work at, improve in, and make my own.
My faith in Jesus has been and is the most important part of my life. It shapes how I think about my purpose, my responsibilities, and how I treat other people. That carries into my work today. I want the things I build to honor God and contribute something good to the lives of others.
I was always dreaming up new ideas, but after high school, I began to realize I could actually pursue them. I could take an idea, start figuring things out, and put in the work to turn it into something real. That was exciting to me, and it’s still one of the things I enjoy most about being a business owner.
Looking back, I can see how those interests connect to Waypoint. There’s creativity in shaping a space and an experience, discipline in learning to do things well, and purpose in using that work to serve people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://waypointcoffee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waypointcoffeeco
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/waypointcoffeeco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@waypointcoffeecompany7499
