With so many coffee shops in Ann Arbor, one is almost always opening or closing, but in the last few months, the changes came thick and fast. Are they symptomatic of some broader theme?

David Myers, owner of the local Mighty Good roastery attached to his large Main St. cafe, adopted the former Glassbox Coffee on campus, renaming it Mighty Good. He says he may open another too, but at press time it wasn’t official. He says business is good for indie roasters like himself: “There are forty-plus coffee roasters in Portland. Independent coffee shops now outnumber chains in New York City.”

He stresses that the recent closing of Peet’s (formerly Caribou) on E. Stadium isn’t directly related to the flurry of changes in local cafes–it’s fallout from the 2012 purchase of Caribou and Peet’s by German corporate giant JAB Holding Company. But, he adds, “I looked at that location, and I wouldn’t have picked it.”

Does that mean that perhaps locally owned coffee shops are better location pickers? “Hmmm, not sure I’d say that. Starbucks has great locations.” Still, he adds, right now, people are infatuated with their local brands. “People want to buy from small local roasters, and they want it to be their own local roaster. Not some artisanal roaster out in, say, Denver or something.”

Another very local coffee business, though he doesn’t roast his own, is The Espresso Bar, which just opened over Literati books downtown. Sandy Bledsoe opened three years ago in Braun Court, where he used to punctuate it differently, calling it [the espresso bar], because it was an informal business wedged into the off-hours of the actual, liquor-licensed Bar at 327 Braun Ct. With that confusion cleared up, he’s ditched the brackets and switched to title case.

The Espresso Bar is intertwined with Literati–it’s open when Literati is open, functions as Literati’s events space, and Literati’s children’s book section is even integrated into a portion of the coffee shop space. Bledsoe seems surprised when asked if having small children and books in such close proximity to hot coffee and sticky sweets ever causes a problem. “If you ever want to feel good about humanity, find some kids who love books,” he says. “No, it hasn’t been a problem.”

Bledsoe (who is sole owner of the business now–his original partner Anna Foster moved to Chicago) says his place is unique among local coffee shops in that customers don’t pay until they leave. Bledsoe takes orders at the counter, but servers deliver coffee to tables along with a glass of water. You pay on your way out. “Our thinking from the very beginning was if you haven’t had it yet, why should you pay for it?”

His friend and landlord Hilary Gustafson joins him for a minute (she and husband Mike own Literati and recruited him to share their new second-floor space). They try to decide whether they see a theme in the recent openings and closings. “People like to buy local. Both coffee and books are easy, definite ways people can buy local,” Hilary says. “There are things you can choose purposefully because you support the business model. And Sandy is so careful about everything he does.”

The Espresso Bar, 124 E. Washington, 707-1327. Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. haveanicecoffeetime.com

And Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee Co. on Jackson closed. This was the last existing franchise of a small regional chain that still has three company stores. Christine Eleby opened the store as an employee in 2007 and bought it in 2011.

Eleby says the immediate cause was the severe one-two punch she was dealt by last year’s freakishly bad winter followed by endless road construction. “It was rough on a lot of businesses,” she says. “With that kind of snow and cold, people don’t want to run extra errands.” When the winter stopped, the road construction started. “It ended in November, but it was too late. We haven’t seen a real pickup. People get into a new routine.”

Even before the double whammy, things weren’t going particularly well. “I think Ann Arbor is an interesting coffee environment,” Eleby says thoughtfully. “People tend to either go mainstream–Starbucks, Biggby–or with the local little guys that have a niche market. We’re in the middle. The city is big enough to offer a lot of competition, and, being a franchise, I didn’t really have the freedom to make many changes.”

She says that her employees are fortunate to have found jobs elsewhere. “Laurie Vaquero, the district manager at Sweetwaters, reached out to us, and three of my employees will be going to work there.” Only Eleby is jobless. She says from now on she’ll probably buy her coffee from Natalie at the Creamery down the street or at Mighty Good: “Dave is awesome.”