Black Diesel Coffee is now open at the corner of Packard and E. Stadium, in the corner storefront previously occupied by Peet’s Coffee & Tea and by Caribou Coffee. Both were successful, busy stores, but their corporate owners decided to leave the entire region. Black Diesel’s improvements include a new front patio with comfy furniture and a rethink of the interior to add a few seats and a lot of power outlets.

Visitors to the cafe inquire if it’s a chain, and everything about it seems to hint that it doesn’t want to be the only Black Diesel in the world. But, at least for now, it’s a singleton. Owner Nick Ferris also has the Old Carolina Barbecue franchise in Cranbrook Village.

The test of a coffee shop is in part how well the register works and how quickly one can get a cup of hot coffee into jittery morning hands. Black Diesel needs a little work yet to get its front counter working efficiently. If you are used to using Square to quickly sign for your coffee, the point-of-sale software (ShopKeep) will look familiar enough, but it’s not currently set up to remember your email address. Regulars who want receipts will slow down the line just a little.

Black Diesel Coffee, 1423 E. Stadium Blvd., 436-8355. Mon.-Thurs. 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. blackdieselcoffee.com

Though Shinola’s opening was noted a few months ago, we failed to give the coffee bar within the store its due. It’s run by Commonwealth, whose main shop is in Birmingham; Commonwealth also runs the coffee counter at Detroit’s Shinola. Barista David Chapman describes it as “direct-trade coffee sourced from small farmers in South America and Africa. We specialize in espresso and pour-over coffee,” the latter meaning drip coffee, but made to order, not by the pot. Chapman says that back in the mothership in Birmingham, “we experiment with small-batch roasting, and that gives us a lot of control over the product. We can mess around with a lot of little factors.”

Pastries, muffins, and macaroons are made in Birmingham and delivered daily. There’s also a vegan fruit bar.

Like any coffee place, Commonwealth opens in time for you to grab a java before work, and, since it’s not walled off from Shinola in any way, that means you can also buy a thousand-dollar watch before you even know what you’re doing.

Commonwealth (inside Shinola), 301 S. Main, 389-7013, Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. gocommonwealth.com

In early July David Myers was about to open Mighty Good at Arbor Hills in what used to be Glassbox Coffee (he also took over the other Glassbox site on South U several months ago, scarcely missing a beat after it closed late last year). Asked what a former Glassbox customer might notice that’s different, he laughed: “The Glassbox has been closed for almost a year!” Ergo, the most obvious change is that it’s open. Myers’ laugh was a little brittle–he began trying to negotiate both leases at the same time, and this one was a battle.

Instead of comparing it to the ill-fated Glassbox, he suggests comparing it with itself. Like his Main St. Mighty Good, this one will also have a “toast bar” with bread from Fenton’s Crust bakery. He’s adding topping all the time–the most recent addition is cheese from Ann Arbor’s White Lotus Farms.

Mighty Good, 3010 Washtenaw, 436-8580. Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. mightygoodcoffee.com