04/23/2026
Follow the journey from the very beginning! Follow us on this page Full Service Coffee - Gobles, MI!
If you are just finding us, or have been quietly following along and wondering what exactly is happening over at 116 S. State St. — this one is for you. Pull up a diner stool, pour the coffee; we have got some catching up to do!
We're Joe and Lauren Todaro, owners, curators, and the welcoming hello behind the counter at The Gobles Antique Mall at 120 S. State St. right here in the heart of Gobles. We acquired the little yellow-facade building next door at 116 S. State St. when we purchased the antique mall building. Based on its condition at the time, 116 was destined to be torn down.
We are slow and steady folks. We believe in doing things right over doing things fast making these projects sustainable so they are here for the long haul. We know we are awhile out yet, but right is always better than rushed. Your patience with us means everything and we do not take it lightly.
Now - back to 116 S. State St!
When we purchased 116 S. State St. we were focused on what we knew we were building. What we did not know was what the building itself was holding onto.
We discovered that it had operated as a Standard Oil service station in 1951. Over the decades, it had been decommissioned and had it's previous iconic look covered with time.
Since it's Standard days, it had lived many lives as a tattoo shop, a hair salon, and ceramic studio, and an apartment. Good lives. Full ones. But the building had a longer memory than any of them.
When we started pulling the drop ceiling, there they were. The original gas station windows. A white-wall tire rack. A belt holder. Just waiting. Quietly keeping the secret of what this place had always been.
And then we pulled the facade.
And there were the letters.
S T A N D A R D.
I cannot fully explain what that moment felt like. But I can tell you it changed everything!
Because we had already been dreaming about something called Full Service, a community gathering place and coffee shop right next door to the antique mall. A place built on unconditional welcome, on dignity through work, on the belief that small towns are worth fighting for. A front porch for Gobles, and a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor connection that small towns were built on.
And then we found out the building had been doing that exact work since 1951!
The original Full Service station. The place where neighbors stopped, were known by name, were met before they even got out of the car. Where returning veterans found dignified work. Where community happened in the in-between moments of ordinary life.
We did not choose this building. This building chose us!
Full Service is coming to 116 S. State St. in Gobles, Michigan, right next door to where you already know us. And it will do what this corner has always done, meet people where they are, with everything they have got.
More details coming as we continue to move forward, one steady step at a time. We know we are awhile out, and we are completely at peace with that. Right is always better than rushed.
But we wanted you to know where this started. It started with a drop ceiling, a tire rack, and eight letters on a wall that said everything.
S T A N D A R D.
We intend to set exactly that!
Thank you for your patience. Thank you for believing in Gobles. We will see you at the service counter soon! Until then - follow us here!
Joe and Lauren Todaro
The Gobles Antique Mall and Full Service Coffee
120 and 116 S. State St. Gobles, Michigan
