Xanadu Coffee Closed ‘Until Further Notice’ as Founder Sentenced for Attempted Sex Trafficking

The Maricopa County Courthouse building. “Maricopa County Court House 330594-3” by Wars is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

A day after its founding owner was sentenced in a Maricopa County courthouse for attempted sex trafficking with a minor, Phoenix-based Xanadu Coffee announced it is “closed until further notice.”

A post on the company’s Instagram said that the company’s employees were not aware of many of the details of the case against the Xanadu Coffee founder, 42-year-old Randall Denton, until the sentencing took place Wednesday morning. 

The company asked readers to respect the privacy and safety of Xanadu employees, and to refrain from directing anger at staff.

“While we are prepared to continue operations as an Employee owned & operated company, there are significant details of the case which members of our staff were unaware of,” the post states. “At this time, we need time to process the news and do our due diligence about the proper next steps.”

Denton was sentenced to one year in prison plus lifetime supervised probation after pleading guilty in January to attempted sex trafficking with a minor. According to Maricopa County Superior Court records, a second felonious charge of attempt to commit sexual conduct with a minor was dropped through the plea deal.

Denton was arrested last year following an online police sting operation. According to a detailed report from the Phoenix New Times based on police records, Denton responded to an online ad from someone claiming to be an 18-year-old woman. In a text exchange, the person, who was actually a police officer, then said they were 14. The report says that Denton was arrested with $250 and a condom while attempting to meet the person outside a shopping mall.

Denton founded Xanadu as a coffee roasting and wholesale supply company in the early 2010s, and later partnered with former Xanadu co-owner Jessica Bueno to open the Xanadu Coffee shop in downtown Phoenix. Bueno left the company in 2022, according to posts previously published on the Xanadu website.

In yesterday’s Instagram post, Xanadu said, “Going forward, Randall Denton is no longer involved in operations of Xanadu Coffee or any of its affiliated businesses. Our staff will be working to find the best way to support our community, customers & employees.”

Xanadu Coffee did not immediately reply to DCN’s request for comment regarding the company’s ownership structure.

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