Java Joe's Cafe

This little place was awesome. The staff was super friendly and the food was delicious. Definitely stop here if you're in the area

This place is awesome! We had a bit of a wait to get in but was offered coffee while we waited. The service after being seated was friendly and quick. Our coffee and water was never empty! The food was amazing, chocolate chip peanut butter pancakes were delicious!!! It was our first visit and it will be a must stop every time we are in St. Ignace from now on. My husband bought a sweatshirt!

This place is a great place to go for breakfast. The food is good and priced well, and the place has a lot of history and character. Would definitely come back here!

Best corn beef hash Omelette, I've ever had. Loved the atmosphere, Great staff and Joe's friendly visits to our table. We are going back tomorrow to try something new. Loved all the tea pots, and the painted floors. I wish it was closer to home. Thanks to my friend Mikey for showing us this treasure.

Quirky little breakfast diner where the hostess must have taught the master class for the Ed Debevic wait staff.

First off, I will say that given that our visit was on one of the worst possible days for any dining establishment within St. Ignace & Mackinaw City -- on Labor Day, right after the Bridge Run/Walk -- the staff here really moved people thru their little diner efficiently. The hostess seemed quirky & pleasant, at first, and kept everyone outside more or less entertained with her antics while telling waiting customers their table was ready & offering coffee to those waiting.

When we arrived, my husband put his name in. After what seemed like a longer than expected wait (yes, I know, Labor Day = busy) & seeing people who arrived after us get seated, I went in to make sure we were still on the list & didn't miss our name being called/get passed by. When I asked, the hostess threw her pen onto the counter & said, "I'm too busy for that, can't you tell? I won't look thru this list for names." Okay, fine. I stood there & looked at her list myself & saw that our name didn't have much further to go. [If you haven't mastered the skill yet at reading upside down, I highly recommend practicing.] I had honestly thought this was okay b/c others had gone in & asked as well. When we were seated, we were placed close to the counter & door. Let's just say that multiple people came in & asked about their wait time. All of them melanin-challenged, which I am not. They were not treated the same, were given approximate wait times, & were even joked with. IYKYK & I'll leave it at that.

If you follow my reviews, you'll notice a theme of me ordering biscuits & gravy pretty much everywhere I go. I'm probably even missing a few reviews, but will post them at some point. Anyways, I know my stuff. And, after doing the Bridge Run (just over 4 mi) & walking back (another 4-ish mi), I was fairly hungry, so ordered the biscuits & gravy, over easy eggs, hash browns, & bacon. I also had a chai latte to drink.

My food was fine, not anything that sets it apart from the rest. I will note that the gravy was a standard pepper, pan gravy. I was so hungry that I didn't recall whether the menu said that the gravy was a sausage gravy or not. Someone at a table next to us had ordered the same thing & asked their waitress about where the sausage was b/c it was noticeably missing. The hostess came over, argued with them that it was there & she could see it on their plate. She ended up leaving them & returning with a small plate of chopped up sausage link. Well, there's my breakfast photo. Do you see sausage? *I* didn't & didn't taste taste sausage, either, if they used drippings (though it likely wouldn't as white if they had). I just went with it b/c I was hungry, couldn't remember for myself, plus there's plenty of places that don't include sausage in their gravy. I bring it up b/c of how rudely this customer was treated & the gaslighting that was taking place. Completely unnecessary. If it didn't come with it, the staff could have just said so.

Another interaction we witnessed was a coffee customer who came to the counter to order a black coffee & a caramel macchiato. The hostess replied. "This isn't Starbucks, we don't serve that." She repeated that, then quizzed the girl ordering it what was in that drink. "I don't know. It's for a friend," & proceeded to type on her phone (presumably to text her friend or look up the ingredients). Regardless, this interaction was said so loudly that it's only purpose would have been to bring attention to it from every customer within earshot & earned laughter from some. It was extremely uncomfortable & that's when I decided that I was at the UP version of an Ed Debevic's.

As for our service, our waitress was good, pleasant, & attentive. Joe even stopped by as he bopped from table to table. There are only a handful of sit-down, non-fast food restaurants for breakfast here, so if you spend any amount of time in St. Ignace, you'll likely still stop. Just know that you may want to go in a little guarded.

It's always such a pleasure to stop here when we go up north. The food is always fantasic and you actually get to meet the real Joe! They're not taking any risks during COVID, which I love! Come visit but make sure you have plenty of time to wait; it gets busy.

Awesome owners, friendly staff, cute atmosphere, and AMAZING food. The menu has so many options it's hard to pick just one. We have gone here multiple times and each time we get something different and delicious. Absolutely love Java Joe's! It is a must-do on a trip through St. Ignace. Highly recommended and worth the wait!

Small but welcoming breakfast spot. Upon entering you will notice all of the unique teapots collected over time. We ordered the Southwest omelette and the lobster eggs benedict. 10/10!

I must say that I have not been impressed with the food locally (except Bessie's pastys, which is a must go) but the small place took me by surprise. The staff is very friendly, especially the owner who takes part and helps.

We still have some exploring to do but so far Java Joes has definitely won my vote for breakfast and upper hospitality.

We loved this little breakfast place! Awesome food, great atmosphere! Joe came to visit us at our table and that encouraged us to meet the people sitting next to us. Will never miss this place when we visit St. Ignace.

This place is excellent. It's a great atmosphere and all the staff was extremely friendly. The food was good and the service was pretty quick too! I had the Chai Tea and it was absolutely fantastic. Would recommend for anyone to visit and enjoy this little gem.