42 E. Cross St., Ypsilanti; 734-482-8050
Café Ollie's just a hopscotch down from the main live music venue in Ypsi's Depot Town; it's got a somewhat heavy door, echoey wood floors, hot zingy coffee and a fine menu friendly to all, particularly vegans. It sounds like your typical college town hub — before you find out how much more it's got going for it, such as tall bookshelves displaying various local releases, CDs, cassettes and vinyl (7-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch). The shelf is consistently updated month-to-month, keeping pace with the ever-industrious community of DIY-musicians situated in the Ann Arbor-Ypsi area (and beyond). A place for lunch as much a place for expanding your engagement with local culture, a place for homework and laptop clattering as much a place to network and soundboard potential song ideas with new collaborators. Over the winter they started a Sunday night acoustic open-mic night ("Ypsi Facto") and for Detroiters heading westward to a Woodruff's show or something at Ann Arbor's Blind Pig or the Ark, this is an ideal place to stop, just north of the freeway, to caffeinate before your night's planned high jinks.
