Orijin Bakery opened in late August at 617 E. Liberty St. in downtown Ann Arbor with a strict policy: no laptops or tablets allowed.

The bakery is the latest venture from The Pulpo Group, the Ann Arbor hospitality company behind Sava's, The Dixboro Project and Aventura, co-owned by Sava Farah and executive pastry chef Jin Capobianco Gorian. Gorian designed the space to encourage customers to connect without digital distractions, The Michigan Daily reported.

Gorian built a following for her handmade croissants, cakes and tarts over three years at The Boro, the bakery inside The Dixboro Project at 5400 Plymouth Road. Orijin brings that work to a larger stage near Sava's on Liberty Street. The bakery makes its croissants in-house in a dedicated baking room and also serves coffee, tea and other pastries.

The space at 617 E. Liberty formerly housed Molly's Cupcakes, which closed April 18, MLive reported.

Moving from The Dixboro Project's local regulars to a downtown crowd dominated by University of Michigan students has been an adjustment. Gorian told The Michigan Daily she is still figuring out what the new clientele wants.

"I'm still trying to grasp, 'what do the students want' versus what I was serving at Dixboro. So it's been a huge hurdle for me," Gorian said.

Bakery manager Angela Baydoun, who followed Gorian from The Dixboro Project, said the team is learning the differences between the two locations. Familiar faces have been showing up, too. Baydoun told The Michigan Daily that many of the Dixboro regulars have already visited the downtown shop.

The no-screens rule shapes the whole experience, Baydoun told The Michigan Daily. She said she enjoys watching customers slow down once they walk in, rather than treating the cafe as a quick stop for a phone call or a laptop session.

The interior matches that intention. The space features marble tables and imported 1800s European furniture. Shawn Patterson-Lee, a University of Michigan senior who has worked at Orijin since before its opening, said Gorian designed the space herself.

"Every time I walk in here, I just feel comfortable," Patterson-Lee told The Michigan Daily.

Orijin is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, or until it sells out, according to the Detroit Free Press.