Dizzy Birds Rotisserie on Main Street in Biddeford, shown at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020, shortly after its first anniversary. Dina Mendros photo

Dizzy Birds Rotisserie in downtown Biddeford announced on social media this week that it will be closing Dec. 31.

Chef-owner Tom Peacock said, since the pandemic, he’s seen a sea change in his customers’ dining habits.

“We play to an empty dining room every night. Pre-pandemic, we were 70% dine-in to 30% takeout/delivery. Post-pandemic, we’re 85% takeout/delivery and 10-15% dine-in,” Peacock said, noting that delivery programs can be costly for businesses, often requiring a minimum 20% commission be paid to the delivery app.

“Forty percent of our space isn’t revenue-producing,” he added. “We just haven’t caught fire, and I don’t have an explanation for us.”

Peacock said he’s also had difficulty with staffing, and although half of his remaining team has worked at Dizzy Birds since they launched in early 2019, he can’t compete with the wages offered by Portland restaurants.

Birds roasting at Dizzy Birds Rotisserie in Biddeford. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

“I don’t want to make excuses,” Peacock said. “There have been restaurants that have been successful. I hate to say we haven’t been one of them.”

Located at 65 Main St., Dizzy Birds is known for its ethically raised, organic rotisserie chickens and scratch-made sides like maple-ginger glazed carrots and broccoli kale salad. The wide-ranging menu also offers proteins like baby back ribs, pot roast, hand-carved roast beef and fish cakes, along with soups, sandwiches, house-baked breads, cake rolls, cookies, crème brûlée and pot de crème.

“We’re much beloved, and the comments we’re getting from people, they’re really sad,” Peacock said. “They feel as though we’re a member of the community, and that’s really the way I wanted to position the business from the beginning.”

Tom Peacock, owner of Dizzy Birds in Biddeford, in 2021. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Peacock said he’s been approached about developing a franchise model for Dizzy Birds and suggested there may be a scaled-back Dizzy Birds Rotisserie store or two popping up in the area over the next couple of years. In the meantime, he hopes to sell some Dizzy Birds take-and-bake items at a few markets in the area.

“I have every reason to be proud of what we put together here, and we’re excited for the future,” Peacock said. “I’m not exactly sure of the bridge between here and there right now, but we’ll figure that out.”