Where Ann Arbor's Mornings Start Now: The New and Returning Bakeries and Cafes

"I don't know of a place downtown that you can get a really good loaf of bread right now." Sava Farah said that to the Ann Arbor Observer in August, as she explained why her new bakery would bake savory loaves alongside its croissants.

Her answer to that gap is on East Liberty. Another one is planned a few blocks west on the same street. Across the rest of town, the new coffee this fall has turned up in less obvious spots, including the inside of a brewery, a North Campus commons and a play cafe. Put together, the fall openings give you a fairly clear map. If you want a pastry made that morning, head toward East Liberty and the campus edge. If you just want a cup of coffee near home, it may now be inside a building you already go to for some other reason.

East Liberty is becoming a bakery street

Orijin Bakery opened at 617 E. Liberty in the storefront that used to be Molly's Cupcakes. According to the Observer, Farah's Pulpo Group bought the business outright, which gave them a high-foot-traffic location and a head start on baking equipment. Pulpo Group also runs Sava's, Aventura and the Dixboro Project.

The baker is Jin Gorian, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and spent three years as executive pastry chef at the Boro, the bakery side of the Dixboro Project. The name Orijin is a play on hers. The Observer reports that her production space grew sixfold with the move. That extra room is the reason the bakery can turn out full loaves of savory bread by the loaf and for sandwiches, along with laminated croissants, cruffins, danishes, custom cakes and cookies.

The space has been rebuilt in stone, wood and antique furniture, and the coffee comes from RoosRoast. Farah told the Observer she wants people to "take a break from their laptops," which suggests Orijin is meant for sitting a while more than for grabbing something on the way to work.

A few blocks west, Bev's Bagels is aiming for 115 E. Liberty. Plate & Press placed the 1,500-square-foot shop between Spencer and RoosRoast and called it a return for chef Max Sussman. He ran Bev's as a pop-up in Ann Arbor in 2020, then built it into a fixture of Detroit's Core City neighborhood. As of that mid-September report, the shop was targeting fall 2026, had no confirmed opening day, and had not announced its Ann Arbor menu.

Plate & Press pointed out how much RoosRoast connects the block. Bev's will sit next door to the roaster, and RoosRoast coffee is also what Orijin serves at 617 E. Liberty. If both bakeries are open by winter, one street will offer a bagel shop and a laminated-pastry bakery, both within reach of the same local roaster's coffee.

Across the Diag, a second Kim bakery

The other scratch bakery that opened this fall is on South University. Dough Objects opened at 1116 South University, Suite A, on the ground floor of the new Vic Village South, just south of Raising Cane's. The Observer describes it as a streamlined companion to Ondo Bakery, which owner Min Kyu Kim runs across the Diag on South State.

Kim is 31. His other businesses are Azalea on South Main, nine Kimchi Box locations, and Dancing Pine, a Korean steakhouse in Novi. At Dough Objects, about a dozen pastries, sandwiches, mousses and cakes are made from scratch every day. Kim told the Observer, "We use the rawest ingredients possible and really create objects out of them."

The drinks follow one firm rule. Everything is poured as a 12-ounce serving, whether it's Hyperion coffee, Rocky's matcha, or a drink made with the house syrups and foams. Kim told the Observer the goal is to keep "very uniform" ratios from cup to cup. Vintage Sterling speakers shipped from a shop in Seoul handle the sound, in a room with exposed ceilings, concrete walls and pillars.

Orijin and Dough Objects keep the same posted hours, so here they are side by side, along with the other new and returning spots in this post. All hours are as the cited outlets reported them, and seasonal changes are common, so check before you go.

Elsewhere, the new coffee is tucked inside other places

Away from downtown and South University, this fall's new coffee counters mostly opened inside buildings that already had another job.

On North Campus, Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea opened its 37th location at Pierpont Commons, 2101 Bonisteel, Room B050, in the space Hibachi-San used to occupy. The Observer reported that it opened in time for fall term. Founders Wei and Lisa Bee are U-M alumni, and this café serves coffee, tea, blended drinks, shakes, pastries, hot sandwiches and ice cream.

On the south side, Sundazed Coffee & Matcha is now pouring inside Mothfire Brewing Company at 713 W. Ellsworth Rd. The only hours in Current's November Biz Buzz are Monday and Tuesday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., so a brewery is now a place to stop for an early-week morning coffee.

The same Current roundup lists The Grove Indoor Play & Cafe at 4095 Stone School Rd. It has play equipment for young children and coffee for the adults with them, plus memberships, birthday parties and events. For parents of little ones on that side of town, it's both a coffee stop and somewhere to go on a cold November morning.

In all three, the coffee counter is built into a place with another main purpose: a commons, a brewery, a play space. Orijin and Dough Objects are the reverse. They're standalone shops where the baking is the reason to go, and the coffee comes with it.

On North Maple, a familiar breakfast is back

One standalone morning spot outside downtown came back at the end of summer. Juicy Kitchen at 1506 N. Maple Rd. reopened on Thursday, Aug. 27, after a freezer fire kept it closed for more than 11 months, as MLive and WEMU reported.

The rebuilt kitchen runs on electric equipment. WEMU reported that the café passed its final city inspection for that equipment, which fits Ann Arbor's carbon neutrality goals. According to MLive, the update also brought new fire suppression, more seating, a redone patio and a new blue-tile countertop. Current added a built-in deli cooler to that list.

The menu hasn't changed much. MLive reported that the JK Benedict and Southwest Hash are back, and Current listed the breakfast burrito, power bowl, smoothies and energy balls. Co-owner Kelby Ziola told WEMU the restaurant had its busiest days ever right after reopening. "It was truly just so special that everyone waited it out for us and welcomed us back," she said.

A Saturday route through the new spots

If you'd like to try the downtown and campus places in one morning, a walkable order is to start at Orijin on East Liberty when it opens at 8 a.m. Laminated pastries sell out, and the bakery's posted hours say "until sold out." From there, it's a short walk past RoosRoast and Spencer to 115 E. Liberty, where you can see whether Bev's has opened. Then cross toward South University for Dough Objects and a 12-ounce cup.

On a weekday, the spots built into other places make more sense. Sundazed fits a Monday or Tuesday before 2 p.m., Sweetwaters fits a North Campus errand, and Juicy Kitchen on North Maple is the sit-down breakfast if that's what you want.

Most of my days are spent in Birmingham, but I love hearing how the people I work with find their favorite places in a new town, and a new bakery is often where that starts. If you're splitting time between Oakland County and Ann Arbor, or helping family settle in near campus, I'd be glad to share what I know and hear what you've found. Anna Rea is always happy to talk. Let's Connect.