Leitchfield man achieves goal of opening own business after years in jail

LEITCHFIELD, Ky. (WDRB) - A Grayson County man is now seeing his dream become a reality – owning his own store, but the journey to get there was spent behind bars.

Daniel Bell has owned “Bell’s Liquidation” in Leitchfield for only a few weeks but the road to get there was a tough one.

In and out of jail or detention centers since the age of 10, Bell said having a place like this was a dream.

“My family had enough of me, I was mean...pretty bad. No one could handle me,” Bell said. “I did everything I could to better my life so when I got out it wasn’t just being able to get out but having the ability to stay out.”

He was released from prison in 2018 after serving a seven-year sentence for a drug conviction.

Behind bars, Bell knew there would come a day he would turn his life around for good and have a place to call his own.

“I’ve always wanted to sit there and have a store, to own my own business, to be my own boss, to set my own hours,” Bell said.

From trail mix to trimmers, the store is a little bit of everything. Tables and shelves display children’s books, bikes, and ceramic table fountains. Bell gets the overstock items from big box stores — often on pallets at a discounted price.

He and his wife both had jobs, but quit so his dream of being a store owner could begin.

“If you asked me 10 years ago, I’d I would be in this position I would have told you absolutely not because the way my life was headed - there was no possible way,” said Bell. “I just saved every nickel we had to be able to do this.”

Bell and his wife are the only two employees now but his goal is to eventually grow large enough to hire a couple workers.

“Life’s good. I got a brand-new daughter, got a wife,” Bell said with a smile. “Anybody that’s still breathing as the ability to change.”

Bell is hoping to move from the shopping plaza into a free-standing store in the next couple years.

"Sometimes, some rare times the worst thing to ever happen to you in life can be the best thing for you... and the best thing to ever happen to you," Bell said.