Commonwealth Coffee

The coffee counter’s on the ground floor, in the Shinola boutique; the seating is in the basement. There’s lots of leather-​ish benches, a big sofa, some bar stools, and a steel desk with chairs; in a less mellow direction, there’s also a table tennis setup. The porcelain water fountains near the bathrooms are a nice touch.
The cortado came out nicely, and filled the short glass; no flat white on offer, though.
Music is a pleasant and unobtrusive mix; the place was pretty deserted on a Thursday morning in the summer, but that suited me just fine.
The wi-​fi is fast and strong, which is a rare treat; I usually tether to my phone in coffee shops, and didn’t feel the need here.
Yes the Shinola stuff is a mix of Detroit cool and goofy pretension — but it’s a fine thing to walk by with your coffee.

Walking around the Shinola boutique upstairs is fun (but way too pricey for students). The real action is downstairs. There’s fast wifi and plentiful seating: a couch and armchairs, a study table with lamps, café tables, and bar seating. As an avid café studier, it was unfortunately pretty dark down there, and the A/​C was turned up really high. Upstairs, there’s also a tiny nook facing Main Street with a cute little booth.
The chai latte was tasty but a bit too sweet for my taste (⁷⁄₁₀). I also had a fruit oat bar, which was kind of dry and tasted mostly like strawberry jam (⁴⁄₁₀). I’ll have to come back earlier in the day to try the coffee and their $ 2.50 macarons.

Wow, I must say I am very impressed. I went in this Friday evening ⁷⁄₃₁. Not every hearing of common wealth. My friend had heard of it from the metro Detroit area and Insisted we go in. First off the décor is very modern, clean, and chic. I do think its a bit strange that there is coffee and treats around expensive leather goods but. hey that’s their problem if someone spills.
The basement area is cute too. I’m not sure if this place is met to be a cool hang out for students to do homework (hope not) or if its met to be a place to shop and play ping pong (I hope so). I did see a bar… not sure if that’s for drinks or just for another barista.
None the less I wish I would of got the name of the wonder women who got me my tea. She was very sweet, made the tea quickly and they had my favorite. Chamomile :-) ALSO! since it was close to closing time she gave me a free desert… it was light fluffy and sweet. She said it was a new pistachio flavor or something but I cant remember.
Also if you think its expensive.
A: THIS IS ANN ARBOR
B: If you live in Ann Arbor… You can spare 3 – 7 dollars for a wonder beverage and atmosphere
C: Shut up and go to stupid Starbucks across the street and settle and be basic :-) rent is expensive.
I will be back. This is probably the coolest most modern and bad-​ass coffee shop in Ann Arbor.
Your local foodie xoxoxo Marissa

Coffee is a tad overpriced and a little too acidic for my taste, but as a place to study, this place gets an A. The downstairs basement is cool, well lit, and full of small nooks to curl up into. If you’re bored, there’s also a pool table. Shinola as a concept is not my favorite ($ 16 pencils, really?!), but the downstairs place is totally well thought out.

Really liked the coffee and definitely worth checking out. The only reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that to get an iced coffee you have to pay $ 6 and buy a large glass jar of it that has about 2.5 servings. It’s pretty pricey, especially if you only want one glass.

This is by far the best coffee. I go to their Birmingham location VERY often so with a new project having me in Ann Arbor I couldn’t be happier to have this a block away! The Ann Arbor location is an awesome atmosphere and he staff is FANTASTIC! Very friendly.

Commonwealth is tucked away inside the new Shinola shop, so it’s easy to miss, but very much worth checking out. Their Americano is unfailingly delicious, the staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is classy.
They have a few seats in the window upstairs, which is a lovely place to watch Main St. Ann Arbor meander by, and a ton of seating downstairs. The downstairs space has a nice open feel to it (though there’s a cozy study nook down there, too!).
It’s wonderful to see another great coffee shop in Ann Arbor, especially one as beautiful as this.