Lowertown Bar & Cafe is a coffee shop that turns into a cocktail bar around dinnertime. We're at 1031 Broadway, on Ann Arbor's Northside. It's the same room and the same seats all day; what changes is what's in the cup.

Mornings run on Hyperion coffee: pour-overs, lattes, cortados, and pastries from bakeries around town. The WiFi is fast and nobody will hurry you along, so plenty of people bring a laptop or a book and stay a while.

Once the espresso machine clocks out, the bar takes over: cocktails, Michigan beer, natural wine, and a zero-proof list we put real thought into. The bestseller is the espresso martini, which makes sense given where you're standing.

The patio is open most of the year. There are fire pits when it gets cold, food trucks out front most evenings, and dogs are welcome. Bring your own food or order off whichever truck showed up.

Tuesdays are trivia. Other nights it might be live comedy, a Cocktail R&D tasting, or a World Cup watch party. The events calendar has what's coming up, and the menu is posted if you like to plan ahead.