Payne's.

The story of Payne's:

If you drive down state Route 22 in Gas City, Ind., chances are you will stumble upon a small restaurant that welcomes you with an old fashioned “Eat” sign. If you walk inside, you will be greeted by wooden benches and tables, the smell of home-cooked food, a friendly staff, and maybe, if you are lucky, a tall, thin man in a white jacket with a British accent. This will be the owner and operator of Payne’s Custard & Coffee, Stephen Payne.

Stephen Payne, 37, grew up in the United Kingdom and moved around with his family to numerous places in England and Scotland. At the age of 21, Payne left his family on a one-way flight to the United States with $1,000 in his pocket and a plan to visit the hometowns of James Dean and Muhammad Ali.

“I [felt] very apprehensive on the plane over,” Payne recalled, “[I thought], ‘What am I doing, I should just get a 9-5 job in an insurance office like everyone else.’ The thought of that insurance job before was my worst nightmare, but on that flight over it didn’t seem bad.”

Payne made his way across the country traveling down the East Coast through Florida and New Orleans, La. Along his journey, Payne hitchhiked, rode in trains, Greyhound buses and rental cars. He slept in cars and youth hostels before ending up in Fairmount, Ind., over the week of Thanksgiving. Not knowing what he would find in Fairmount, Payne stumbled across the James Dean Gallery. When the owners offered him hospitality and a place to sleep, a chain of events was set in motion that would result in the grand opening of Payne’s Custard & Coffee.

After a brief stay, Payne moved back to the U.K. to help his parents while they opened a hotel. A year later he found himself back in the U.S. selling rock ‘n’ roll artifacts on eBay in New York City for the owners of the James Dean Gallery.

The experience he gained led him, again with empty pockets, to Los Angeles where he slept on floors and couches until he opened his own online business selling T-shirts. The business’ success allowed him to save funds that would soon be used in the development of his new enterprise.

Payne’s original idea for the restaurant formulated when his friends decided to open a James Dean Gallery at Exit 59 in Gas City, Ind.

“I was on the phone to them talking about it and I said, ‘James Dean Ice Cream.’ I thought an ice cream and pie place would be neat beside a tourist attraction — like the gallery was supposed to be,” Payne said.

He decided to buy a piece of land at the same exit as his friends, but was unable to secure a loan to construct the building. However, Dr. B.D. Patel, the building developer, agreed to loan Payne the funds needed in order to establish the vision he had. Payne seized the opportunity and opened the shop but then decided to return to LA where his online business was in operation.

Before his move back to LA, he quickly realized that Payne’s Coffee & Custard needed to undergo a transformation to become and remain successful. Due to the substantial investment he made in the restaurant and his hope for success, Payne remained in Gas City to manage the new shop.

Six years later, Payne’s is a successful business that prides itself in the quality of its food and in the fact that it is privately owned. Payne’s welcomes customers from all walks of life and seeks to be a “big-city experience” in Grant County. The restaurant offers products such as espresso, frozen custard, smoothies and home-cooked restaurant foods. All ingredients are mixed individually and prepackaged food is not used in preparation. Payne said that the restaurant is close to the finished product and that he is very proud of the organization’s success.

“I know what I want Payne’s to be, I know how I want my life and my life’s work to be and am not afraid to change it and take ideas and see faults and improve them,” Payne said.

He continued: “I put everything I had financially into Payne’s and then a lot more. … I put everything I had emotionally into Payne’s and then a lot more. [Payne’s] should be seen for what it is by everyone in Grant County, there is no place like it anywhere around.”

Payne currently resides in Upland, Ind., with his wife, Jenny, and his four children: Jake, Charlie, Willy and Luke. Payne is happy for the difficulties that led to his business and the success that followed.

He offers this insight to his value of success:

“We want our lives to be beautiful and filled with life, love and happiness,” Payne said. “I think if we can all leave the world a better place than when we found it then we have had a successful life.".