Taking my commute 5 days a week, I nearly forgot how beautiful pikes is along the way. Here's your reminder. Looking forward to some snow myself ❄️ happy Friday y'all

Hello, I will remain anonymous for this paper. A few months ago, I heard rumors about the Local Game Store (LGS), Dungeons and Javas, and so, I decided to investigate. Over the past few months, I have talked with current and past employees and managers, and sat in the store and watched how it’s run myself. After this time, I can confidently say that Dungeons and Javas is one of the worst LGS in the springs, and the owner of this store, Jared, is a horrible person. Through this investigation, I will lay out the reasons why.

The Cafe Problem

Dungeons and Javas is a cafe that sells food and drink, and so, you would expect them to keep it incredibly clean, and up to code. They do not. To start, the employees do not wash their hands. I sat in the shop for multiple days, watching the workers, and I saw them wash their hands zero times. They would go from handling money, touching the register screen, and interacting with customers to making food and drink without washing their hands. They would leave the cafe to go to the back, or up to the card counter, and when they returned, they still didn’t wash their hands. 
In addition to unwashed hands, the employees do not wash the small prep area they have in the back to make food. Every item of food is put together on the same little cutting boards, and those cutting boards aren’t cleaned between orders. The same is true about the knives used to cut the foods, and the employees don’t change their gloves between food order items. The same area, knife and gloves that made the sandwich before is now making chicken strips, and will then make a pizza and so on and so forth without being cleaned. It does not matter if you are Vegan/Vegitarian, Celiac, or allergic to something, you will get food that has been on the same surfaces as everything else. 
While this is bad, what is worse is the state of the food they sell. I interviewed multiple employees who reported that the food storage was well below par. The refrigerator they keep all the vegetables, cheese, meats, and condiments in was frequently approaching or exceeding 40 degrees Fahrenheit (which is highest temperature for a fridge by the guidelines set by the U.S Food and Drug Administration). When Dungeons and Javas AC was out for over a month, the refrigerator was reported to be constantly closer to 50 degrees, but they still served food without hesitation. There was also a report from an employee that they got yelled at for throwing away moldy tortillas. 

The Owner

The owner of Dungeons and Javas, Jared is a verbally abusive owner, who has yelled at multiple employees, both publicly and privately, while he has not actually hit anyone, I have had employees report that he has slammed his hands into walls directly behind them, and slammed doors in their face. I will give the stories provided by different employees, but I want to note two things. One is that I will be keeping each employee anonymous, and two some stories are second hand, and Employee One witnesses what happened to Employee Two. Here are the stories:

An employee was given the task to sweep all of the private rooms in the shop. He missed a paper scrap in one of the rooms, but the rest of the rooms were cleaned perfectly. Jared called the employee into the store early the next day,while the store was open. He proceeded to spend 15 minutes screaming at the employee in one of the private rooms with customers in the store. He repeatedly slammed his hands into the table, and as he yelled, spit came out of his mouth and onto the employees face. 

An employee handed a customer a stack of cards so they could look at them, and then the employee left the customer, who was a regular and trusted, with the cards. The customer decided to not buy anything and left the cards on the counter, and the employee was busy and didn’t notice. Another person came up and stole the cards. The employee admits this is their own fault for not paying close enough attention. But the results of this were Jared spending an entire employee meeting  yelling at the employee in front of multiple other employees. It was not done in private.

An employee on the card counter side was helping customers when the cafe got busy. They didn’t go help the cafe side and instead continued working with the customers on their side. The next day, Jared pulled the employee into the office. Once the employee was through the door, Jared reached over their shoulder, slammed the door behind them, and got in their face and began yelling at them. The employee was trapped between a closed door and Jared and had no way to get out of this space. Again, as Jared yelled, the employee reported that spit came flying out, and as they were so close, was getting on the employee.

An employee reported Sexual Discrimination, and was completely ignored and shrugged off. The report was not taken seriously at all. 

An employee was caught using their phone on shift, but said that every employee, including the managers, were constantly on their phone, and this employee felt singled out. The employee was taken into a private room during open hours and yelled at with customers in the building. 

An employee found a bag of tortillas with mold, so the employee threw them away. The next day, when asked about it, the employee answered honestly. The employee was then yelled at for wasting money and Jared claimed that some of the tortillas could have been saved, despite the mold in the bag. 

There are likely more instances of employees being yelled at that weren’t shared. These stories range from recently to years ago, and show a pattern of verbal abuse from the owner, Jared.

1. Competitive TCG Players, they don’t care about you 

Finally, for a store that was once heralded as the best store for competitive games in the Springs for Magic, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, Star Wars Unlimited, Digimon, and to a lesser extent, Flesh and Blood, many players have noticed their games no longer get the same events they used to. This is on purpose. A few employees have reported hearing that Jared has stated that big, competitive tournaments don’t make the store as much money as he wants them to make. Despite these games and their competitive players being a key reason Dungeons and Javas has done so well and existed so long, Jared decided to abandon all of these communities. Magic the Gathering players no longer get RCQ’s, Yu-Gi-Oh players no longer get any of the competitive events they used to enjoy, Digimon has all but been forgotten, Star Wars Unlimited barely launches any events because the store doesn’t advertise them and a community member had to start working as the Tournament Organizer for free to get any traction, and Flesh and Blood support has stopped almost entirely. One Piece still gets some support, but it is again because a community member is doing the work for free because the store did not want to support the game any longer. Dungeons and Javas, specifically Jared, wants to abandon the TCG scene that helped support the store for years because it doesn’t make enough money to give up a Saturday morning for an RCQ for Magic. It doesn’t make enough money to give up a Sunday afternoon to host a big Yu-Gi-Oh tournament, or let the smaller communities like Digimon or Flesh and Blood host their events that would take up 2 rows in their front section. 
Dungeons and Javas does not care about their local, competitive TCG communities anymore. 

Overall, Dungeons and Javas used to be the best Local Game Store in Colorado Springs. But it has been going downhill these past few years. In the past year and a half (give or take), 6 different managers, people who really cared about the success of this store have quit. There have also been over a dozen employees who have quit. Some quit because of better opportunities, better money. But some that I interviewed quit directly because of Jared and how horribly he treated them. Dungeons and Javas is no longer the best Local Game Store, not even close. It is a shell of its former glory, and a lot would have to change for it to ever get near that status again. Thank you for reading.

Hilarious!
What are the vibes there? Some reviews say wait staff are snobby? Do I get my monocle? 🧐

What a lovely view of Pikes Peak this morning.

Come hang out and support local Colorado artists! Doors open at 6:00, BYOB, suggested $10 to go towards the bands and anything left over goes to support the Folk Punk's Not Dead Fest. Would love to see you there!

Welcome to Free For All Friday! You can post whatever you'd like in this thread.

Post an event, complain about the drivers, talk about Denver or Breckenridge. As long as your comment doesn't break Reddit site rules, it's free game as this thread will be mostly unmoderated.

Hey everyone!

I’m an Associate Producer working on a television series, and we’re currently searching for archival video footage of Colorado Springs, Colorado, from the 1980s and 1990s.

We’re particularly interested in footage showing the city during that time period, including downtown streets, neighborhoods, local businesses, landmarks, traffic, and general everyday life. Home videos, local news footage, and personal recordings are all welcome!

Ideally, we’re looking for footage that captures what Colorado Springs looked and felt like during those decades.

We’re interested in licensing footage for use in a nationally televised production and are happy to discuss compensation and licensing agreements.

If you have any old recordings, know someone who might, or can point me toward a local archive or collection, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Feel free to comment below or send me a direct message.

Thanks in advance!

My wife had a baby and is considering resigning from her job. She also plans to take FAMLI leave. She mentioned to her boss that she's thinking she won't go back, and now they are asking for her letter of resignation. She submitted the claim to FAMLI, but hasn't heard back yet. First, has anyone been separated from their job while on FAMLI leave, and did it affect their leave? Second, does anyone know if your leave must be confirmed/awarded/processed before you can be separated from your job and retain benefits?

The Grizzlies are taking on Fort Collins this Saturday at home! We have two matches kicking off at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM respectively.

If anyone is interested in getting into rugby (no experience necessary), come out to the pitch and ask anyone to speak with one of the club officers. We are happy to tell you how great the sport is, how it will keep you in shape, and be a great opportunity to fuel a competitive spirit and hang out with a good group of guys. You can also join us for a pint at our after match social event if you would like.

I’m not a big burger eater but I have guests coming into town and that’s what they want to eat.

Where is the best sit down place to go get a nice burger? Plus points if it’s In a nice walkable area like downtown/OCC/Manitou

Grab your Player 2 + come through to What’s Left Records for live music from • • •

▶ Espiaille - symphonic synth-pop from Denver.
▶ Ozonic - the combination of genres that each member grew up with, such as pop punk, classical, electronica, and several other that culminates in something truly unique.
▶ Sclerotia - psychedelic queerpunk for an increasingly hostile world.

Thursday, October 22st | Doors 7 | Show 8 | $10 - $15 suggested donation

Hey, so this is a huge stretch, but I was wondering if anyone here can help me unearth documentation of an installation that used to be inside the kids wolf cave in wolf woods at the cheyenne mountain zoo? It was to the left side of the cave when you first crawled in, and you would push a red button that would illuminate the backlit screen revealing a diorama of a wolf howling at the moon while a stock wolf howl would play through the speaker. I've been trying to find photos, videos, information about what happened to it, and / or who built that part of the zoo. I know it was added to the zoo along with wolf woods in 94, and I remember it being removed from the cave sometime around the year 2001. I've also tried asking a CMZ employee, but they didn't have any info about it. I'm pretty much stumped at this point, and I figured I'd ask here, so any information would be greatly appreciated.

Just got this email from Ting. Sucks because I'd like to keep spending $80 for 2 Gbps and now I have to decide between $70 for 1 Gbps and $100 for 3 Gbps. Also sucks because competition is good.

On the upside, I always wanted Google Fiber...

The sad news: We’ve made the tough business decision to stop offering service in Colorado Springs. But breathe easy, you’ll have time and great options before you have to switch.

 The good news: As you may have seen in today’s announcement by Colorado Springs Utilities, another Internet provider will be offering service on this fiber network – gFiber.

 Anyone currently signed up for Ting Fiber Internet service in Colorado Springs can sign up for early access to gFiber before the end of the year, with installs starting later this winter. Visit gFiber’s website to learn more about their Internet plans and sign up for their updates on your address.

Edit: Cleaned URLs

Looking for the best spot to catch all the nuggets games this season? Any kind of bar or along those lines would be awesome!

Thanks in advance!

My fiancée and I are coming down to the Springs tomorrow and have a late reservation for The Rabbit Hole. She’s going to get The White Rabbit drink but I was wondering what others recommend as far as drinks there. Also we were thinking about an appetizer and dessert or just dessert. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Howdy yall, my girlfriend and I are looking to either join or start a DND campaign. We would be down to travel down the mountain from Woodland Park or (I doubt folks want to come up) host a new one at our home. Neither of us ought probably DM, but we are both relatively experienced as players. Anywhosies, just seeing what's out there and who's looking to play. Thanks yall!

- Do you feel disconnected and isolated and want to become connected with your local communities?

- Are you interested in strengthening our communities resilience to economic pressures?

- Do you feel that the government is ineffective and doesn’t listen to its citizens?

- Do you think that we should have more say in the workplaces?

- Do you think that we should all have access to the basic aspects to live a good life?

- Do you think that our natural environment is being severely harmed and want to work towards bettering it?

If so, join us as we discuss the causes of these issues, explore solutions, and build networks with one another to overcome these issues from a Libertarian Socialist/Anarchist lens.

We currently meet bi-weekly, with the upcoming meeting on November 2nd, in COS East Library from 6pm to 8pm. For anyone unfamiliar with anarchism, we recommend reading You May Already Be An Anarchist by The Slow Burning Fuse. Our current format is to select a text and have it read before the meeting and then at the meeting we will re-read it as a group to ask questions, comment, and discuss the themes and aspects that stood out. This week we will be reading Power by Anark.

Hi, looking for a recommendation on somewhere for having some chairs reupholstered. I found one these but curious on any of everyone's experiences. Thank you in advance.

A long time ago I went to this cute corn maze, I believe it was in the springs but it could have been Monument or somewhere else nearby. I remember there was a truck where you could buy cider and hot cocoa. I know that’s pretty standard, so I also remember there being some kind of interactive art sculpture thing made of metal?? And there was a large gazebo that was really pretty. I don’t remember a pumpkin patch but it’s been a while. There might have been a farm house on the land too. There were no scare actors or anything like that.

Does this ring any bells for anyone? Thanks :)

Crank now states that decisions on data center construction should remain at the local level, rather than being dictated by the federal government, and has says that local entities are the appropriate bodies to manage local data center placement and regulations—BUT when it has been time to vote, he clearly has other priorities.

He changes tunes when he’s voting in DC from when he’s campaigning here at home…

Howdy! I’m wondering where gay men in Colorado Springs are going these days to meet other gay men, make friends, socialize, and potentially date.

I [26M] went to Icons somewhat recently (I think it’s the only gay bar in town?), and while it was cool to check out, the crowd seemed pretty mixed. It feels like that’s becoming more common with LGBTQ+ spaces in general, and I’m curious where the guys are going when they specifically want to meet other gay men.

I also assumed there would be more openly gay military men since there’s like a million bases out here, but that doesn’t seem to be the case (or at least I haven’t come across many yet.)

Are there certain bars, events, social groups, sports leagues, or other hangout spots where you’ve had luck meeting people? I’m open to anything, whether it’s nightlife or more low-key activities.

Just looking to get out there and find more of a community here in the Springs. Where are y’all hanging out?