When Prodigy Coffeehouse in Globeville was selected as one of USA Today’s Top 10 Best independent coffee shops in November, it was a bit of a surprise. Coming in at number 10 on the list the announcement read:
“Visit Prodigy Coffeehouse for a jolt of expertly brewed Joe that feels as good as it tastes! Prodigy’s apprentice program offers young adults an experience designed to build a foundation of skills for sustainable lives and economic mobility while enriching the local community.”
After experiencing employment in different places, Melii Morales found her place at Prodigy. She was promoted from apprentice to shift lead a couple of months ago. In this position, she helps with the hiring process, apprentice training, and making sure her team feels supported. Morales said Prodigy has been a very good place where she can be herself and take good care of herself and her teammates. When she heard about the shop receiving the reader’s choice award, she was shocked.
“I thought Prodigy wasn’t as recognized as they are, but seeing that, I realized a lot of people see us and they know we are here. It was really nice to have that acknowledgment,” Morales said.
The independent shops were nominated by an expert panel and voted by readers based on their atmosphere, baristas, and unique menu. Executive Director of Prodigy Ventures Inc., Jeslin Shahrezaei, sees the accolade as the result of hard work and dedication from the apprentices running the shop.
“We were excited to be recognized,” she said. “We weren’t recognized because we are a unique model that offers young people support in the workforce. We were recognized because we sell good ass coffee.”
Shahrezaei said she is impressed by the community’s commitment to Prodigy and is very grateful for its continuous investment in the shop.
“Prodigy has been widely supported across Denver,” she said. “If you come in here most mornings, you’ll see elected officials, community leaders, school board members. There are all sorts of people that make the effort to come to Prodigy because they understand the social impact of it but also because it’s a great coffee shop.”
Aside from crafting delicious coffee in an adapted space that was formerly a Grease Monkey, Prodigy offers a paid apprenticeship for young adults in North Denver. Prodigy provides apprentices the opportunity to gain industry-recognized certifications that can be applied to employment once they have completed their 12-18-month apprenticeship. Through hands-on learning, the apprentices gain experience working as baristas and learning how to operate the shop.
“We have a lot of young folks that come in that don’t know anything about coffee and don’t necessarily like coffee, and they become really good baristas in less than a year,” said Brady Grant, director of learning at Prodigy Ventures Inc.
The shop offers a cool industrial atmosphere filled with natural lighting and plenty of seating, where customers can chat, work, hold business meetings, or simply enjoy their coffee. Other customers like James Gilbert, who works at the Cobblestone Car Wash next door, enjoy stopping by the shop before heading to work.
“I think it’s a really, really good coffee house,” he said. “Always very quick to get me what I need, and I enjoy their white chocolate lattes. I didn’t know they were on the top 10 list, but I definitely enjoy going there more than the Starbucks down the street.”
Taking an afternoon stroll through the neighborhood a few blocks away from the coffee house, business owner Russel, who only wanted us to use his first name, said he has owned his business in the community for 30 years. He shared he has tried other coffee shops in the area but has enjoyed visiting Prodigy for lunch and coffee through the years.
“Their coffee is wonderful,” he said. “I like their program—helping people and training them—it’s a really good program and the people that work there are typically very good.”
Wrapping up his shift for the day, apprentice Ruben Sanchez was getting ready to make the 10-minute walk home. Sanchez has lived in the community his entire life and after working for his family’s business since the age of 13, he decided to leave and applied to Prodigy’s apprenticeship the same day. He has been working at the shop for three months and thinks it’s pretty cool to work at a place where he can brag about being on the Top 10 Best list.
“There’s nothing that you really have to study, you learn as you go,” Sanchez said. “It’s nice getting to know a lot about coffee, considering it’s like my addiction, so I enjoy learning about craft coffee and how it’s getting made.
During the apprenticeship, Morales said the group has created relationships with some of the regular customers, who will occasionally bring them food or gifts during the holiday season. She said they have also created connections with the businesses that surround the shop, specifically mentioning the logistics company next door, CAP Logistics, which created a job shadow opportunity for them and ultimately hired two Prodigy apprentices to join their team.
“I have customers that are helping me find a good work environment like Prodigy, especially one that prioritizes being able to take care of ourselves, our mental health and not put work over our mental health. It’s been really helpful,” Morales said.
Grant believes the success of Prodigy is due to the hard work of their apprentices and the environment they have created for their customers.
“We have a lot of young folks who are authentically getting to know themselves and being able to express themselves, [which] really resonates with our customers,” he said. “I think our customers feel that they can be themselves when they come in here. It makes every cup of coffee, cup of chai or tea taste better when there’s a personal connection. We appreciate our customers for that, we appreciate how much they value us both in the Top 10 lists and in the other ways that they supported us too.”
