AURORA | When they launched Copper Kettle Brewing, Jeremy Gobien and Kristen Kozik wanted a brewery that doubled as a neighborhood bar, someplace where friendly customers and staff formed a community.
Picture “Cheers,” but with great craft brews on tap.
When Alex Teves strolled into Copper Kettle in spring 2011, he quickly became the poster boy for what the husband and wife brewery owners hoped for.
“He was a customer that came in, we knew him by name and knew his story, and that’s exactly what we wanted to create with this business,” Kozik said.
He loved craft beer. He was always friendly. He made friends with whoever pulled up a bar stool next to him.
And most of all, he was genuinely excited to be part of the beer-loving community Copper Kettle was carving out.
Teves was gunned down last summer, one of 12 people killed in a shooting rampage at the Century Aurora 16 theater.
This weekend, the brewery at 1338 S. Valentia St., Denver, is hosting “A Night To Remember” beer festival with more than 10 local brewers, several food trucks and a silent auction.
All proceeds will benefit the Alexander C. Teves ACT Foundation and Phoenix999.
The ACT Foundation was started in Teves’ name last year and provides funds and opportunities to students with unique needs. In particular, the organization helps Humanex Academy in Englewood, an alternative school Teves worked with before his death.
Phoenix999, an organization founded by survivors of the Columbine High School Massacre in the wake of the Aurora shootings, provides financial assistance and educational resources to victims and their families.
Kozik remembers plenty of weeknights and Sundays when business was slow and she and Gobein were able to chat at length with Teves and his girlfriend.
“We had a chance to really get to know him and get a feel for who he was,” Kozik said.
Teves was so found of Copper Kettle he made it a point to become of the brewery’s Mug Club members. When he posed for a picture with his mug, Kozik said he made the photographer snap several pictures before deciding it looked just right.
When his mom, Caren Teves, came to town from Arizona, he brought her to the brewery.
“I loved it there and I could see why he did too,” Caren said.
It wasn’t surprising to see Alex make friends with everybody there, Caren said, because he did that everywhere.
“That was Alex in a nutshell,” she said. “Alex embraced everyone, he just was one of those people who made you feel good about yourself, and he did that for everyone.”
Saturday’s event is important, she said, because it gives her a chance to remember Alex in a state he loved, in a place he loved, and with people who cared about him in.
“It’s nice to go back there to see them and Colorado and Denver embrace him back,” she said. “It truly means a lot to me, and I can see that when I am there.”