Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X X V I N OV E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 2 3 6 Worst mass shooting in Maine history In the worst incident of gun vio- lence in Maine history, a man shot and killed a total of 18 people at two Lewiston businesses on Oct. 25. Another 13 people were injured. e man accused of the shootings, Bowdoin resident Robert Card, 40, was found dead in Lisbon Falls on Oct. 28. e shootings began at about 6:56 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley at 24 Mollison Way, and were contin- ued at Schemengees Bar & Grille, at 551 Lincoln St., police said. Officials said seven people died at the bowling alley and eight died at the restaurant. In addition, three people died while being transported to local hospitals. Maine legalizes sports betting Legalized sports betting was legal- ized in Maine, effective Nov. 6. But in the days leading up to the launch, the state's Gambling Control Unit fined a New York fantasy sports bet- ting company $391,850 for taking "pick 'em" sports bets, according to an industry publication, Legal Sports Report. Fantasy sports gambling, in which bets are taken on hypothetical teams and multiple players com- pete against each other, are legal in Maine. Underdog Fantasy's pick 'em bets are not, said the regulator, since they involve actual sports teams and wagers against the gambling opera- tor itself. e Gambling Control Unit began investigating the bets in May. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced that GrowSmart Maine was awarded $304,636 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Community Development Initiative grant program. The funding will support program training recipients in 10 Maine towns on land use planning processes that will address critical issues includ- ing farmland protection and farm vi- ability, affordable housing, and climate change prevention and mitigation. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services said that it will distribute $8.5 million in one-time funding to municipalities and Tribal Nations for General Assistance costs. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E B R I E F Coffee By Design closes original Portland shop after nearly 30 years B y A l e x i s W e l l s J ust two weeks after Coffee By Design temporarily closed its Congress Street location, citing a staffing shortage, the company announced that the coffeehouse will not reopen. "It is with deep sadness that I share that we will be permanently closing the Coffee By Design Congress Street coffeehouse. This is a difficult announcement to make," wrote owner and co-founder Mary Allen Lindemann in a social media post. "I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the support this community has always given this special place in Portland." The closing came just a week before Starbucks closed a longtime location at 594 Congress St., near the Portland Museum of Art. Earlier this year, the Seattle-based chain closed a location at the corner of Exchange and Middle streets. In the Old Port, its Commercial Street store is under- going renovations. Coffee-lovers' hangout The 620 Congress St. shop was the company's original loca- tion, opening July 1, 1994. Two weeks before the coffee shop permanently closed, Coffee By Design said it would temporarily close to hire and train additional staff. The Portland company is headquartered at 1 Diamond St., where it has a coffeeshop and roasting facility. It also has a coffeehouse at 67 India St. The business is owned and led by Lindemann, who launched the business with Alan Spear. In 2005, both were recognized as Mainebiz Business Leaders of the Year, and Lindemann was named a Mainebiz Women to Watch in 2019. The company also had a retail location inside L.L.Bean's flagship store in Freeport, but closed the shop in advance of a major revamp of the campus. Coffee By Design has 650 wholesale customers worldwide. "The decision to close the Congress Street coffeehouse was not made lightly, and it comes after years of this loca- tion barely breaking even due to a combination of factors, including never making a true recovery after COVID, the loss of the Freeport coffeehouse following L.L. Bean's decision to renovate and not extend the lease, and the changing retail landscape," said Lindemann in a published statement. On Oct. 17 baristas at Coffee By Design's Portland coffee- houses 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. In late October, the company voluntarily recognized the union. In a Facebook post, Coffee By Design said the Congress Street closing is unrelated to the unionizing and that the cof- feehouse's performance had been under review for a long time. The retail workers have cited industry-low pay and uneven hours, which have led to inconsistent benefits, an ad-hoc disciplinary system and substandard working conditions as reasons for joining the union. Coffee By Design and Starbucks closed locations within a block of one another on Congress Street in Portland. P H O T O / A L E X I S W E L L S Coffee By Design closed its first Portland location, at 620 Congress St., which opened in 1994.

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