Photo / Renee Cordes
Batimbo United, drummers and traditional dancers from Burundi who are based in Portland, performed Sunday at Coffee By Design's 25th anniversary party.
Updated: July 1, 2019
Bob Dylan, Burundi drummers and Coffee By Design at 25
Photo / Renee Cordes
Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear, co-founders of Coffee By Design, inside the roasting room at 1 Diamond St. in Portland. They started Coffee By Design with a single location, on Congress Street, on July 1, 1994.
When Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear opened their first Coffee By Design retail location on Congress Street in Portland on July 1, 1994, they had projected 25 customers coming in that first day.
With its location across from the State Theatre, the coffee house brought in 10 times that number.
“Thank Bob Dylan, because the day that we opened, Bob Dylan decided to tour again, and the tickets went for sale at the State Theatre and we had 250 customers,” recalls Lindemann, donning a CBD-branded dress inside the offices at 1 Diamond St. in East Bayside. “That’s why we don’t remember the first day. Honestly, it’s such a blur.”
Spear is a licensed landscape architect and environmental planner, while Lindemann's background is in marketing.
They were honored as Mainebiz Business Leaders of the Year in 2005.
In July 1994, they started from a single location in a depressed neighborhood then often referred to as the "porn district," in a former hair salon that hadn’t paid rent in three years.
They also worked what Lindemann now laughs at as "stupid hours" from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., and employed one part-timer.
Today, Coffee By Design employs 65 people and has three locations in Portland (it recently closed one on Washington Avenue), one in Freeport in the L.L.Bean flagship store and a Westbrook cafe inside IDEXX Laboratories. Annual revenue is around $8 million.
Most of the business is in wholesale, which is projected to grow around 18% to 20% this year.
Lessons from 25 years in business
In an interview last week at their Diamond Street offices, Lindemann and Spear shared some of the lessons learned from 25 years in business.
Say no to some new business
"When I think about some of the accounts early on, we turned them down because we felt we weren’t in a position to serve them well,” says Lindemann. “It was really hard saying ‘no’ because we absolutely could have used the money and there were some major accounts,” including one that would have brought expansion to Boston and a doubling in size in a year. “We felt that was way too fast, so we learned to say 'no' if we don’t have the infrastructure in place," she says.
Stay true to your passion
“If you start with a mission and a passion for what you’re doing, stay true to the mission and passion," says Spear. “Don’t change because your customers want you to change. Make changes — you always need to stay fresh — but make changes that aren’t driven by money.”
Know your numbers
Paul Hawken’s book “Growing a Business” (first published in 1987) and its insights into socially responsible companies like Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia made a strong impression on Lindemann: “It was really incredible to read the book and the people he found with the least amount of money to begin with ended up doing the best because they had to be very thoughtful about how they spend their money.”
Be open to change
After their original idea for a freestanding coffee kiosk never got off the ground, the duo opened a bricks-and-mortar shop in Portland. Five years ago in response to a "third wave" of market newcomers, they worked with Toderico Creative to give the Coffee By Design brand a needed jolt. "Our sales dipped for a week and then went way up," says Lindemann.
Value your customers and employees
Coffee By Design, whose first customers included Bosnian refugees that had settled in Portland and members of the gay community when AIDS was a taboo subject, has always sought to be a welcoming, inclusive community-focused coffee house and employer. Crediting an "extraordinary team of employees" for helping create an atmosphere where everyone is treated with respect, Lindemann says: "They're here to serve customers a cup of coffee, but they're also here because of the community piece."
Still marching to a different beat
On Sunday, Coffee By Design celebrated its 25th anniversary at its Diamond Street location with all-day festivities inside and outdoors.
Highlights included a rousing performance by Batimbo United drummers and traditional dancers from Burundi in the parking lot, an Ethiopian coffee ceremony in the loading area converted into a party lounge for the day, and tastings of Coffee By Design's new 1994 Blend and the four African-origin coffees used to make it.
A percentage of the sales proceeds from the limited-edition product will support 10 nonprofits featured at Sunday’s event. They include the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, New Ventures Maine and The Telling Room.
Another new product is a sampler pack with story cards about the coffee that Coffee By Design sells and brews on a daily basis, including at the original Congress Street location.
It's now part of a vibrant downtown in Portland's arts district that didn't exist when Lindemann and Spear opened the first location in 1994.
Though their corporate roles are now more strategic, Lindemann still likes stopping by the Congress Street location when she can.
"I was told I'm disruptive," she says. "I hold up the line so I can't be behind the counter because I get to chatting with customers."
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