Coffee by Design's travel guide to the hidden gems of Portland, Maine

This is a unique Filter travel guide because it combines two perspectives, from Mary Allen Lindemann and her daughter, Alina Spears. Mary Allen is the founder of Coffee by Design, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend.

At 30, Coffee by Design is older than nearly every other specialty coffee business in the world; it is still setting the pace with its focus on sustainability up and down the coffee chain.

Speaking with Mary Allen and Alina by phone some weeks ago, their enthusiasm for both their city and their work in coffee across the globe rubbed off; I wanted to explore Portland with them, and discover the farms from where they source their coffee around the globe. The Filter travel guide below includes both their answers, for a cross-generational tour of Portland, Maine.

If you’re in a hurry to find their favorite hidden spots, scroll to the bottom for links to the Filter Map of Portland.

Coffee by Design in Portland, Maine, focuses on sustainability across the coffee chain, including celebration of the cultures across the globe. Here, Burundi drummers perform outside Coffee by Design. Photos courtesy of Coffee by Design

Filter: What do you like to do for fun around Portland?

Mary Allen: Portland—the original Portland we like to say—Maine, offers a wide range of things to do depending on the season, day of week, your mood!

Personally, I love the arts. I believe they are an impactful way to introduce us to other cultures, beliefs, traditions, ideas which brings our world together, helping us to better understand what we have in common than our differences. There are numerous live performances to enjoy year-round in Portland—both local talent as well as national and international companies. Check out Portland Ovations (yes, I am proud to be a board member) to see who they have coming to town. Last week, Ovations presented ECHOES, an original production in partnership with Indigo Arts Alliance, another powerful arts organization, as part of its Seeking Resonance series. This full day of free performances by composer, performer, violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain was a brilliant collaboration with local artists honoring Black stories and songs across time and the complex relationship in Portland with the Black community. Performances took place at a variety of venues culminating at the Abyssinian Meeting House, the third oldest standing African American Meeting House in the US. Local performers Black American Folk singer and storyteller Sam James, South Sudanese dancer Veeva Banga, Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor poet laureate Maya Williams, and spoken word poet, army veteran, activist for refugees and asylum seekers Moon Machar—just a few of the breathtaking performers who participated.

Venues to check out include the State Theatre, Aura, One Longfellow Square…to name just a few favorites.

Alina: Portland has so much life. I find the First Friday Artwalk to always be a great kick-off to the first Friday of each month, meeting local artists and supporting their talent.

Concerts at local venues such as the Apohadion and Sun Tiki Studios to always be a highlight of living in Portland. We have so many specialty coffee shops to visit and learn from.

If I’m needing to get some energy out, Happy Wheels roller rink is a fun roller skating/blading activity on my own or with a friend.

My all time favorite part of Portland is Jewel Falls waterfall on the Fore River Sanctuary Trail. Losing myself in the tall thick pine trees and white noise of the waterfall is free therapy.

Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

Mary Allen: We have an outstanding restaurant and bar scene so I always take friends out for a great meal. Fore Street and Scales are favorites (full disclosure, they serve Coffee by Design coffee). Blyth & Burrows happy hour on Wednesdays is a must for those who like oysters (4:00pm on, $1 oysters, $6 punch, and $6 Prosecco). Same owner recently renovated a beloved building and opened Henry’s Public House. Again full disclosure, they use our coffee but in the midst of the current trend of espresso martinis, they also offer an incredible Irish Coffee….not just hot but cold. Unbelievable. They also have Marc Chillemi Quartet on Wednesday nights (what is it about Wednesday? Middle of the week need for inspiration?) Good to catch his Cuban band Primo Cubano. As summer approaches, it is important to catch Gina and the Red Eye Flight Crew for some great funk and fun. Featured at a number of places in town including Aura, Portland House of Music and lead singer Gina Alibrio performs outdoors with “friends” at Portland Lobster Company.

With so many things to do, you can forget to grab a meal so late night musts are Tomaso’s Canteen, a “down-to-earth” neighborhood bar and grill; Boda, a Thai kitchen and bar; and LFK bar which has good food basics.

Alina: I would take them to Willard Beach or Bug Light Park for the sunrise, Scratch Bakery for coffee and bagels, then walk around the Old Port, hit Jewel Falls at sunset, and probably Tokyo Sushi Ramen and Bar for dinner. They have a large variety of sushi, soups, noodle and rice dishes.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

Mary Allen: Portland overlooks Casco Bay which has many islands to explore. Chebeague Island which is accessible by Casco Bay Lines from Portland Pier (long ride but there are stops on other islands) or a drive to Yarmouth where you park and take a scheduled school bus to Chandler’s Wharf on Cousin’s Island where the Chebeague Island water taxi picks you up. Rocky beaches, a golf course, great biking island. Drinks on the porch of the Chebeague Island Inn is a great way to watch the sunset.

Alina: Finding a local trail or beach near you is always a great option. Portland Trails is a fantastic ‘nonprofit urban land trust that transforms Greater Portland into a healthier and better-connected community through a 70+ mile trail network.’

Filter: What touristy things around Portland are worth the hype?

Mary Allen: Two Lights State Park is a quick drive from Portland to Cape Elizabeth. The park offers views of Casco Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and Two Lights Lighthouse, and rocky pathways to walk and playgrounds for kids to enjoy. There is also the remains of a World War II-era seacoast battery bunker. Any visit to Two Lights must include a meal at The Lobster Shack. Be prepared to wait in line but it’s worth it. Great lobster. Unparalleled view.

A drive up the coast is worthwhile but try off peak season when traffic and prices are not so bad. I personally like Lincolnville and treat myself when I can to The Inn at Sunrise Point. Rockland is a great town as well with the Farnsworth Art Museum, a vintage shop called Curator, and of course a visit to our coffee partners Atlantic Baking Co. for coffee and delicious baked goods (even some gluten free choices which is great for me as I need to eat gluten free). And be sure to enjoy dinner at Primo, led by James Beard Award winning chef Melissa Kelly.

Alina: Probably the lobster and the ocean. Pure serenity. The access we have to water and nature is a privilege and an experience in itself, our natural environment is always worth the hype.

Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners or hidden gems there?

Mary Allen: Living near the water is important to me. Sometimes I get so deep into the day-to-day of running a small business that I forget that taking a break can make all the difference, especially when just minutes away—East End Beach, a small and rocky sanctuary, is free for all to enjoy. I can dip my feet in the water and close my eyes with seagulls above as boats dash and dance by. Even in the wintertime, I love driving there as the parking lot overlooks the islands in the Bay. The sky, water, and land are always changing in color as the season moves from winter to spring to summer then fall. During covid, I would either begin my day or end it driving to East End Beach, park my car, and take photos of the changing view. Nearby shacks. The waves and boats. Clouds. The islands. Something about seeing them there brought me comfort that we would be okay.

Nearby is an incredible gazebo overlooking the Bay and Fort Gorges, a former US military fort built in the mid-1800’s which was never used. Many prom and wedding photos taken in that gazebo and musicians play in the summertime. The fort is a park which is only accessible by boat to visit.

Baxter Woods and Evergreen Cemetery, yes a cemetery, are great walks as well with plenty of greenery and stories to explore.

Alina: Jewel Falls in the Fore River Sanctuary, Battery Steele on Peaks Island, and literally any beach—Pine Point in Old Orchard to be specific.

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?

Mary Allen: Portland has a vibrant coffee scene. I admire anyone who has the dream of opening a coffee shop and makes it a reality. I have a great deal of respect for our friends Mateo Hodo and Alba Zakja who own Coffee Me Up. They serve Coffee by Design coffee but their coffeehouse represents who they are. Originally from Albania, they offer homemade European sweet and savory baked goods served with perfectly prepared coffee and espresso beverages all with love. They show every day what they believe in human connection, positive energy, caring and sharing all matters of the heart. They are located not far from our Diamond Street location but are very much part of the neighborhood in which they are located and where they live.

There are so many coffeehouses I have great respect for but felt I needed to also give a big YES to Café Crème and founder/owner Tonnie Schultz and her team. Café Crème has been in business almost 19 years and is a fantastic Coffee by Design partner. Based in Bath, Maine, Café Crème is a quintessential community coffeehouse, actively engaged in their downtown, building a vibrant and unique coastal Maine experience. Their well-crafted coffee beverages combined with in-house baked goods make them a “must go to” stop in Bath.

Alina: To list a few that came to mind was Double Great coffee and Tandem both on Congress St.

Double Great always has a consistent, quality cup of drip coffee and their view of the neighborhood and water is just breathtaking, truly a tranquil atmosphere.

Tandem always serves high quality drip and espresso options, and I have to mention their top-tier bakery. They are known for their pastries alone!

Filter: What makes Portland feel like home to you?

Mary Allen: Interesting question as home is such an important part of my journey. I’m not originally from Maine, my family came here in the ’70s as Chebeague Island summer people, but since opening Coffee By Design 30 years ago and searching for what it means to become a community coffee company in ways which enhance not change what is unique about a place.

I think Portland is unique in how we have supported Maine agriculture with the growth of the restaurant and food scene. Our farms were at risk of disappearing and visionaries such as Sam Hayward, co-founder of Fore Street, and Dana Street, owner of Fore Street, Street & Co., and Scales, launched the farm to table movement here in a big way. I am proud of how we have embraced the growing diversity in the state with the influx of refugees and asylum seekers which brings new ideas and a much needed workforce and growing younger generation to Maine. It feels like home to me as Portland is open to new ideas, energy, creativity whilst staying true to local ownership, a working waterfront, and products homegrown. Portland is becoming the world I dreamed I want to live in and raise my daughter. It does not all look like us.

Alina: The closeness! Everything is under a 20-minute commute by car and about an hour commute by bike or walking. Also the beaches and trails, Portland is a walkable city for sure.

Filter: How did you end up in the Portland coffee scene?

Mary Allen: I spent my childhood in Connecticut but have always felt that New York City (Manhattan, specifically) is where I am from. As I said above, I summered in Maine growing up. I was sure I would not stay here. I spent a year in college here and transferred and returned after graduation for a bit to work as a copywriter at an advertising agency. Moved back to New York where I continued in advertising as an account manager. Moved around a bit, worked in the fashion industry some. I came back to Maine in my mid-twenties when my parents decided to move here when my dad became ill and wanted to be here. I stayed after he died to be with my mom.

Worked in retail and met the guy who would become my husband, now former, but we left Portland in 1989 when the recession had hit the downtown hard (40% vacancy rate) and as young professionals, we didn’t see much of a future. Flip of a coin. San Francisco or Seattle. Lucky for us Seattle. San Francisco had a major earthquake the week we moved and Seattle had this growing new industry: specialty coffee. Neither of us worked in the industry. Alan was a landscape architect/environmental planner. I was head of new business for an advertising agency. They asked me to research this growing new category of coffee and pitch accounts. Months of bringing my findings home, Alan was fascinated by coffee and land usage. I felt passionate about the community gathering aspect. After 3 years of returning to Maine to visit family and wondering why the continuing vacancy rate ("Why doesn’t someone do something”), we realized we were part of the solution.

We opened Coffee by Design on July 1, 1994, in what was then the pornography, now arts district, of the city. We projected 25 customers would come. A debt of gratitude to Bob Dylan who decided to tour again that year. The newly-restored State Theater across the street from us had just announced ticket sales the day we opened. 250 customers became our friends that day.

Alina: I’m originally born in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and was adopted by my mother Mary Allen Lindemann and began to work for her coffee company. I found myself with Coffee by Design when I was a freshman in highschool and the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she was short staffed and I offered to come in to help with orders—unknowing of my deep passion now for coffee.

Filter: Can you share about your role at Coffee by Design?

Mary Allen: My title has changed somewhat over the years but the role I play has always been heart and soul. Today as 100% owner—I bought Alan out a couple of years ago when he was ready to explore a new path—my title is owner and chief creative director. My role is all-encompassing and includes overall strategy, marketing, personnel management, coffee sourcing, quality and safety control, company spokesperson, travel agent, and head cheerleader. (C’mon, we’re still a small business!). For me, work has to be meaningful. The coffee industry is personal and I believe the ways we choose to do business matters. Progressive arts and social change is an important part of Coffee By Design’s DNA. I truly believe that Great Coffee Changes Lives as long as we represent the farmers well and engage our local community. My dream is long after I am gone, a coffee farmer will know their family thrived, not just survived from our partnership. Here’s to changing the world one cup at a time!

Alina: Currently at Coffee by Design I work in the production center, train our retail staff on our espresso procedures, and oversee our sample roast and cupping programs. There are multiple aspects of my job that fill the bigger picture with endless rewards; with training new baristas and shift leads how to use our espresso machines, I get to understand and illuminate the refined techniques of pulling an espresso shot to its highest potential. The process of cupping is a rewarding experience, because we build tasting skills with each coffee and come to understand the vast spectrum of specialty coffee. There are so many highlights in the experience I cultivate with coffee and the true reward is being able to share it with the greater community, finding a like minded appreciation for a product conducted by many hands across the globe.

Filter: Coffee by Design prioritizes working with local farms and processors around the world to create a better future along the coffee chain. For a shop turning 30 this year, that's remarkable. What energizes you and what concerns you as you look at the coffee industry, and how can the everyday coffee drinker help?

Mary Allen: Some of what I mentioned above is what energizes me. The choices we make every day matter. We need to come up with bold and brave new ideas. I think often of what my dear friend, Alain Jean Claude Nahimana who passed way too young during covid shared. An asylee from Burundi, Alain asked why Americans often speak of thinking outside the box. “What solutions would you find if there never was a box in the first place?” Brilliant. No barriers to thinking. Every day new ideas to how we as a small business can change how we do business which better supports our farm friends.

Pilot projects like our pre-payment for coffee before it’s been harvested are some ways we are exploring how we as a company can help. The average coffee drinker can help by understanding we all need to pay more for coffee. If we don’t pay more, farmers will plant other crops which pay more. It’s simple. If we want to enjoy the pleasure of great coffee, we need to invest more to make it happen.

Alina: Coffee by Design stands out to me in how seriously it prioritizes working with local farms and processors around the world to create a better future along the coffee chain. For a shop turning 30 this year, that's remarkable. What energizes you and what concerns you as you look at the coffee industry - and how can the average coffee drinker help?

The connections we build professionally and personally cultivate growth through our entire industry. Meeting new people, understanding different cultures, and exploring the craft of our industry is what energizes me. In my opinion, there are new experiences and stories everyday in the life of coffee.

Generally the economy and politics are a concern for me, especially in the context of our industry. The outcome for consumers and producers will look different, but I believe if worse comes to worse that we will all be deprived of coffee, quality coffee. Elections, choices, and ideas create action and change whether it be positive or negative. In this vague statement I am leaning on the fact that our choices locally can create an impact, even at a larger scale.

As an average consumer, I always look at the companies I’m supporting. As quality becomes more scarce at times throughout the industry, I look at the personal work that companies produce. Do your research, ask about the process of supporting farmers and women in coffee, and ask about the history of the company. Find an alignment in values that nurture our producers and the generations entering the industry, or values that ensure the security in biodiversity and cultivation of the plants our commodity comes from (Arabica).

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

Mary Allen: I am fascinated by the coffee scene in India. What many perceive as a tea-only country is doing great things with coffee which has been grown there since Baba Budan, a 17th-century Sufi, first introduced coffee to India. I have been traveling to India since 2015 as a women’s coffee brewmaster judge and have been thrilled to see how the next generation has embraced and made the industry truly special. Big shout out and love to Subko Coffee who are making a big difference to coffee farmers in India while creating a memorable customer experience.

I also just returned from a long-delayed vacation to Paris and was very impressed to see how the specialty coffee industry has grown there. The café culture is core to Paris but specialty coffee houses have emerged over the past few years with enthusiastic and well versed baristas at places like Noir, Recto Verso, and Two Doors.

To be honest with you, I enjoy wherever I go…always discovering new ideas and seeing coffee through a variety of lenses.

Alina: To be completely honest I haven’t thought about moving for a change in scenery, as far as coffee. I know that Washington and Oregon are legendary coffee shop locations which could provide a larger understanding of the specialty cafe life. If I had to move, I would move to New York, Boston, or even Nevada. Currently I’m interested in the growth of smaller third wave locations, such as Maine and the Northeast.

Filter: Anything you’d like to add?

Mary Allen: Great coffee is for everyone. We all bring something special to the cup which I think in the United States we sometimes lose sight of. I view Coffee By Design as multigenerational which is exciting. I learn from the younger generations who work with me and feel I have a few years of stories to share as well. There is no one way. The theme of Coffee By Design’s upcoming 30th birthday celebration sums it up for me: Sankofa. We bring the best of the past (me) into the present (Jeremy, our director of operations and Q Grader) which leads our future (Alina :)).

Alina: Sharing the experiences that I’m given through the industry and Coffee by Design, such as traveling and cultivating nurturing relationships. As a younger person in the industry, the experts I meet through travel to origin and attending conferences have made a huge impact on my understanding of the industry as a whole. While it is not always cost-effective to build relationships through these expenses, I find that it is a great investment into our company as well as my own learning journey. Having the opportunity to bring in our producers allows our company to share the story behind their coffee with our customers, bringing our greater community to our local community. It is a privilege and honor to experience the reality of livelihood behind our commodity.

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Coffee by Design is located at 1 Diamond Street in Portland, Maine.

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