"I’ve watched Parker grow up. When I started my shop, there were only nine auto shops in town. There was no Home Depot, no Walmart or Target. Now there are 52 auto shops in the area—lots of competition." – Dennis Brewster, owner of Extreme Auto Repair
When Dennis Brewster opened Extreme Auto Repair in Parker 20 years ago, he had an open view across the two lanes of Dransfeldt Road and a dream of making a living fixing cars.
Dennis has seen Extreme grow along with Dransfeldt, which has morphed into a busy four-lane thoroughfare.
“I’ve watched Parker grow up. When I started my shop, there were only nine auto shops in town. There was no Home Depot, no Walmart or Target,” Dennis says. “Now there are 52 auto shops in the area—lots of competition.”
Despite all the changes in his town, Dennis says he has always focused on treating his employees and customers right. Many of his employees have been with him for several years, which he contributes to the success of his business.
“One gentleman has been with me for 19 years. When you have that kind of relationship with them, you become family. We appreciate them, and we take care of them. If we take care of them, they’ll take care of the customers,” Dennis says. “It’s a service industry. Unless you take care of your customers, they won’t come back.”
Dennis is also involved in the Parker Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Parker and helps the Parker Task Force with clients who need car repairs to be able to get to work.
“I want to give back to the community we live in. They provide us with our living, so we want to give back. It teaches my people to give back too.”
For the past couple of years, Dennis has been involved in the Student of the Month through the Rotary Club, helping recognize Parker high school students for their academic and community work and awarding scholarships.
“These kids we get, it’s amazing what they do and what they do for the community,” Dennis says.
Dennis has lived in Colorado since 1967, when his drill-sergeant dad finished up a tour in Vietnam and moved his family back to his home state. He started tinkering in the garage as a high school student at Aurora’s Hinkley.
That lifelong passion for cars comes through on Dennis’ guest spots on the call-in radio show Drive Radio on AM 560 KLZ, sponsored by Colorado Select NAPA AutoCare Centers.
“It’s a lot of fun. You have to be transparent in that if you say something on the air, you’d better be able to back it up when they walk into your shop.”
He says he gets to talk about his lifelong passion for cars and gets listeners to call in with their favorites—the sexiest car, favorite car color, best and worst cars in the snow.
Some things just aren’t up for debate for Dennis. Trucks should be white. An Impala ’63 should be gold.
But what’s best in the Colorado snow? Dennis says, anything with good tires and a four-wheel drive.
