WEEK OF JULY 18, 2024
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 32
FREE
Breaking the stereotype at Convict Coffee Company Fourth of July
weekend fireworks cause blazes across south metro area
Owner encourages others to get out and do good BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Every day he had to wear a suit, speak a certain way and not tell people about who he was for nearly 30 years. But now he feels true freedom. Dan Klehm describes himself as rough around the edges and an old-school metalhead who is a coffee and soda connoisseur. “What has really kept me from really realizing my potential was, I was acting without purpose,” said Klehm. Before moving to Colorado, Klehm worked in the corporate restaurant business as the vice president of Applebees and Rock Bottom Brewery as well as COO of Illegal Pete’s and Cheba Hut, but his work eventually brought him to Parker. While traveling across the country, Klehm said he was successful and was making money, but became dissatisfied with the industry, which is why he decided to start his own company — a passion project called Convict Coffee Company. “(Coffee Convict) is really born out of just disappointment in the industry,” said Klehm. “Just recognizing lack of pay equity, lack of opportu-
BY NINA JOSS AND ELLIS ARNOLD NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Daniel Klehm is the founder and owner of Convict Coffee Company on Parker Road. After years of being in the correctional system, he believes incarceration is not an effective way to change someone unless rehabilitation is included. Convict Coffee is his passion project to help provide youth a safe place for the community to hang out.
SEE COFFEE, P8
Early in the morning on July 7, three acres of the Willow Spring Open Space area in Centennial were ablaze with fire. The fire, which South Metro Fire Rescue firefighters stopped from spreading within 20 minutes, was one of many incidents over the holiday weekend that were likely caused by fireworks, South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Eric Hurst said. He said it’s “very common” to see fires on July 4 and the days surrounding it. “Every year, we up-staff additional fire engines in those evenings — usually the third, fourth and fifth — so that we have extra personnel because we know that there’s going to be more fires,” he said. This year, on July 4 alone, between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight, crews responded to 45 fires in South Metro’s district, which includes Littleton, Centennial, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Parker, Foxfield, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village and
PHOTO BY HALEY LENA
VOICES: 18 | LIFE: 20 | CALENDAR: 23 | PUZZLES: 32
SEE FIRES, P6
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