Photo / Alexis Wells
Pictured is a notice about the closure outside Coffee By Design's India Street branch.
Updated: August 16, 2024
Friday Food Insider: A fresh pour of coffee news
Photo / Alexis Wells
Coffee By Design recently closed its coffee shop at 67 India St. in Portland.
Coffee By Design has closed its location on Portland's India Street, the third of the four coffee shop company's branches to close in recent years.
“To our loyal customers, friends, and neighbors: We are sorry to announce the immediate closure of our India Street coffeehouse,” said a Facebook post from the company last week.
“This decision was not made lightly. We deeply appreciate your support and hope to welcome you soon at our 1 Diamond Street location.”
Owner Mary Allen Lindemann told Mainebiz that her decision to close the India Street location was difficult and wasn't driven by a single event. Instead, she said, it was a combination of factors, including the building being up for sale.
“Coffee By Design was short-staffed and India Street struggled to maintain consistent hours,” said Lindemann. “I couldn’t, in good conscience, hire and train new staff knowing that a closure under new ownership might be imminent.
“Closing the India Street location allows us to focus even more on our core strengths — providing our wholesale accounts and coffee-loving customers with the highest quality coffee, service and support,” she continued.
“This transition enables us to allocate more resources toward our wholesale operations, ensuring that we continue to grow alongside our accounts while better serving their needs.”
At this time, Lindemann does not plan to open another coffeehouse. Instead, she wants to expand the hours and experiences at her Diamond Street location, adding art shows, pop-ups and special events like “Voices By Design” and the “Talk & Taste” series with coffee producers.
“Coffee By Design will continue to grow through this new model along with our wholesale business and e-commerce,” said Lindemann.
Other CBD changes
On Oct. 17, 2023, baristas at Coffee By Design's three Portland coffeehouses announced plans to unionize.
Employees said 89% of the retail workforce had signed cards authorizing Local 327 of the Laborers' International Union of North America to represent them.
The retail workers have cited industry-low pay and said that uneven hours, inconsistent benefits, an ad-hoc disciplinary system and substandard working conditions were reasons for joining the union.
The company later announced that it had voluntarily recognized the union.
Later that month, in a Facebook post, Coffee By Design announced that it would be closing its location at 620 Congress St., which was the company’s original location, opening July 1, 1994.
The post said at the time that the closing was unrelated to the unionizing and that the coffeehouse’s performance had been under review for a long time.
The company also had a retail location inside L.L. Bean's flagship store in Freeport but closed the shop in April 2023 before a major revamp of the campus.
Coffee By Design continues to operate a vigorous wholesale business, with 650 customers worldwide.
Other coffee news
- South Portland-based coffee chain Aroma Joe’s is building three new sites, one of which is in Maine. The coffee shops include a site planned for Cascade Road in Saco; city documents say the developer is Pine Tree Holdings LLC and the street address will be 2 Cascade Road, not far from Old Orchard Beach. Other Aroma Joe’s will be in Nashua, N.H., and Loudon, N.H. The buildings are being constructed by DeStefano & Associates Inc.
- DeStefano & Associates Inc. has also started renovating a former bank building at Sanford Plaza in Sanford to become a new Starbucks branch. The coffee shop will be located inside a former Bank of America building.
What restaurants are you excited to see open? The Mainebiz Food Insider wants to hear from you! Contact Alexis Wells at awells@mainebiz.biz.
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