This small shop at 16 Nickels Arcade specializes in espresso drinks and made to order drip coffee. They also offer a variety of loose leaf teas as well as locally baked pastries and other treats. Seating inside is limited to about 14 and a there are few small tables outside in the arcade.
Comet has a rotating menu of coffees from a variety of North American roasters such as 49th Parallel in Burnaby, British Columbia and George Howell in Acton, Massachusetts. Bags of whole bean coffee are available for purchase.
The storefront originally housed Bay’s Jewelers which opened soon after the arcade’s construction and was run by three generations of the Bay family until shuttering in 1992. Subsequent tenants included the Studio 16 jewelry store and a brief seasonal occupation by Schoolkids’ Records around the Christmas of 2008. Comet Coffee was opened by Jim Saborio on March 14, 2009.
Review
- Comet Coffee, Ann Arbor, Boots in the Oven, May 2010
There are fifteen (one five!) options for drip coffee, not a single one of which has anything to do with size! A list of five different types of coffee- mostly organic, free-trade, and small lot varieties- sits by the register. Each of them can be ordered prepared via the pour-over drip method, a French press, or a vacuum pot. And did I mention the coffee changes daily? See where the indecision comes in?
- Comet Coffee: Art and Affogato, Bix Engels, Arborweb, May 2009
Even in a town saturated with coffee shops, Jim Saborio’s Comet Coffee stands out with an exceptional brew. Open since March, Comet Coffee remains mostly geared to take-away cups. But recently they set out a pair of tiny bistro tables in front of the shop in Nickels Arcade, a place to sit and drink in the architecture. The coffee is a good match for Nickels’ dramatic setting.
- @mysticbob: Bob Kuehne: Comet is open! We're the first customers and its spectacular. coffee. Bring your wallets and palates.
