Councilman, small-business owner finds solace in community, food

Carols Graham poses with Lincoln University, his employer of nearly 20 years, in the background.
Carols Graham poses with Lincoln University, his employer of nearly 20 years, in the background.

Carlos Graham walked into Brew House Coffee on May 12 having an awful day.

Graham's maroon 2003 GMC Envoy had been stolen the previous night - right outside the Jefferson City Police Department.

The suspect, a Springfield resident just released from jail after being arrested on outstanding warrants, found Graham's car unlocked, keys under the driver's side doormat, and drove the car back to Springfield overnight. Police later found the vehicle outside a retail store in Springfield, and Graham's car was towed back to Jefferson City last Tuesday.

For most people, this would be the worst day of the year. For Graham, though, given everything he's been through in the past month, the day hardly registered.

"Nothing has changed," Graham said. "I won't complain. I'm not mad. It's been a small setback, but at least I'm in a position to say I got my car back."

Graham, an Alabama native, has experienced many trials in life. Most recently, his brother Curtis died last month after an eight-year battle with leukemia. Despite these hurdles, a teddy bear personality and a love for small business and serving his community make him one of the most likable people in Jefferson City, according to friends, family and co-workers.

Graham wears many suits. He works full time as director of campus and community relations at Lincoln University. About a year ago, he and two partners bought Brew House Coffee. He was elected to the Jefferson City Council in 2013.

When he's not working in these roles, he serves on boards of organizations like the Jefferson City Lions Club, Capital Region Medical Center and Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association.

David Griffith, executive director of the Central & Northern Missouri chapter of the American Red Cross, where Graham serves as chairman of the board of directors, said Graham does everything to help anybody he can.

"Whatever you ask him to do, he'll do his best," Griffith said.

Graham's wife, Shalonda, said he doesn't sleep much and just has a giving personality.

"I think that's a gift of his," Shalonda said. "He's just a man that can juggle it really well. I still can't understand it."

Graham entered the coffee shop May 12 chatting with customers, employees and anyone else who would listen. 

Customers - many who know him well - dropped their jaws as he told them the story of his restless night waiting to hear from police. A few offered to lend him a car, as had friends like Griffith, that morning.

Graham's plate was already full in June 2016 when he decided to to buy the coffee shop on a whim.

Initially, then-owner Deb Brown rebuffed his offer. After two friends joined Graham's bid, Brown agreed to sell them the business.

Despite being invested in so many other parts of the community, and with his time stretched so thin, Graham loves being a small business owner and has big plans for the coffee house.

Brew House opened a second location May 7 inside the Baymont Inn at 319 W. Miller St. Graham wanted to expand the business and figured he could catch foot traffic at the hotel.

Brew House also completed a renovation at its original location the same day, adding 640 square feet of space. By June 15, Graham plans to keep the shop open in evenings for dinner dishes that pair with craft beers and fine wines.

"It's providing a service that you enjoy," Graham said. "Providing an atmosphere which I enjoy. I didn't get into this to get rich whatsoever. I got into this for the love of providing people with coffee and a place where patrons can come and have a nice time."

Graham grew up in Florence, Alabama. At age 19, while in college at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, he and his high school girlfriend had his first daughter, Tiara.

His faith in God helped him see his daughter as a blessing, but he didn't let the surprise stop him from becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. After graduating with a bachelor of arts in sociology, he felt like he'd changed his family forever.

"It felt like I set the bar for everyone else in our family to go to college, including my brother," he said.

In 1997, he moved to Jefferson City to work at Lincoln University, also earning a master's in sociology from LU in 2000. There he met Shalonda and fell in love with her and with Jefferson City. 

Tiara, now 26, is engaged to former Missouri and NFL cornerback Kip Edwards, and they have a 2-year-old son. The Grahams' youngest daughter, Emmarie, is 12. Given all of Graham's work in the community, he occasionally misses one of Emmarie's track meets or other events but doesn't miss many meals at home.

"It is hectic and busy," Sholanda said. "But he does make time. It's just like a regular family."

Over coffee, Graham looks down at a conference table in front of him. He begins to tear up talking about the fresh wound in his life. About a month ago his brother lost his battle with leukemia, beating the disease but dying from kidney failure caused by chemotherapy, Graham said.

Curtis was a burly man with bulging biceps and dark brown skin. By the time of his death, chemotherapy treatments caused his face to swell and turned much of his skin nearly white.

Talking about his younger brother clearly hurts Graham, but he's open about it.

As children, Graham let Curtis take the fall when their grandfather got mad at them for climbing on the roofs of houses and exploring other parts of his Alabama farm Graham and Curtis weren't supposed to be on.

Now, at age 44, Graham said he always looked up to his brother, who was two years his junior. Curtis served 15 years in the U.S. Air Force. Later he owned a Blimpie franchise in South Carolina, so they also talked about business.

"I always looked up to him, because he served our country with pride," Graham said.

His brother left behind a wife, two daughters and had a grandchild on the way. Graham is still digesting this, he said, but his faith in Jesus Christ has grown since Curtis' death.

"During his funeral I said, 'Lord, why would you take someone who's touched so many lives, who served our country, who's living right, not on the streets, providing for his family?' And in the background I heard something say, 'Why not?'" Graham said. "(God) puts no more on you than you can bear."

After his brother's death, he said, he received countless phone calls and emails from concerned people around the city offering condolences. Graham admits he'll probably lock his doors and roll up his windows more often now, after having his car stolen, but said his faith in Mid-Missourians is as strong as ever.

"It was just a love felt here in Jefferson City that I think you couldn't find anywhere else," Graham said. "It's home."