A pedestrian walks by Coffee By Design on India Street in Portland on March 14, 2013. The coffee company announced Friday that it has closed the India Street cafe. Press Herald file photo by Tim Greenway

Coffee By Design announced on social media Friday that it is closing its India Street location immediately, with the Portland coffee roaster now having closed three of its four locations in the span of about a year and a half.

“To our loyal customers, friends, and neighbors: We are sorry to announce the immediate closure of our India Street coffeehouse. This decision was not made lightly. We deeply appreciate your support and hope to welcome you soon at our 1 Diamond Street location,” the Facebook post said.

Owner Mary Allen Lindemann said the decision to close the India Street location, which opened in 1998, came as a result of impacts the COVID-19 pandemic had on the small business, but also reflects a new direction in the coffee industry.

“It was not an overnight decision,” Lindemann said. “It was abrupt, but we had reached a point that a number of factors, all of a sudden, just aligned.”

Lindemann said she and former Coffee By Design co-owner Alan Spear had already decided to put the India Street building, which they own together, up for sale when staffing shortages forced the location to temporarily close Friday, ultimately prompting Lindemann’s decision to close the store for good.

Lindemann said she immediately let staff at the India Street store know about the plan to shutter the location and move all employees in “good standing” to the Diamond Street location.

At one point, the company had four brick-and-mortar locations, in addition to a now-closed espresso bar at the Idexx headquarters in Westbrook. One was at the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, and the others were in Portland, on Congress, India and Diamond streets.

But the Freeport location closed in spring 2023 amid the ongoing $50 million makeover project at the L.L. Bean store.

And the Congress Street store – the coffee shop’s original location – followed in October 2023. At the time, Lindemann told the Press Herald that the pandemic exacerbated financial difficulties, and a lack of foot traffic in downtown Portland hampered the shop’s efforts to make up the losses.

Coffee By Design started doing business in 1994 and was one of the earliest and most progressive fair-trade coffee shops in Portland. Its roastery, which sells coffee beans to over 600 businesses and has an on-site cafe, is at located 1 Diamond St. in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood.

Coffee By Design’s Diamond Street location, seen here in 2016, is now the Portland roaster’s last remaining location after the company announced Friday that it was closing its India Street shop immediately. That news comes on the heels of the closings of the company’s Freeport and Congress Street locations in 2023. Press Herald photo by Jill Brady

In April, Coffee By Design became the first independent coffee shop in Maine to have ratified a contract with a labor union after it reached an agreement with a recently formed union of baristas. Lindemann told the Press Herald last year that the unionization efforts were not the cause of the shop closures.

While Coffee By Design’s staff and hours fell over the pandemic, Lindemann said online orders skyrocketed 400%, boosted by national recognition for the company’s coffee roasting. Online and wholesale started taking up a large portion of the company’s sales, which prompted Lindemann to shift her business model.

“I really wanted to look at a commitment we had made to our customers, was that we will not waiver from our outstanding product, outstanding service and outstanding commitment to our community, locally and globally,” Lindemann said.

Along with expanding the company’s online and wholesale presence, Lindemann said the business is focused on making and sustaining partnerships with coffee growers abroad and sponsoring local philanthropy – while continuing to offer a cafe setting on Diamond Street.