From November 19 through Christmas Eve, Cherry Creek North's holiday season runs through one block of Fillmore Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. The block closes to traffic for the market, the lights and the Giving Machines. A new restaurant opens in the middle of the run. The storefront news this fall points somewhere else. One new building on Milwaukee Street is rearranging several addresses at once, and most of what's headed there serves the morning and midday crowd.
Five Weeks on One Closed Block
The 7th annual Cherry Creek Holiday Market runs Thursday, November 19 through Thursday, December 24 on Fillmore Plaza. Cherry Creek North describes it as a free outdoor event with dozens of local makers, designers and creators, plus live music and a full bar of seasonal drinks inside the Mistletoe Lounge. During the market, Fillmore Plaza is closed to traffic between 1st and 2nd Avenues, just north of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
The hours change by day of the week:
| Day | Market hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Wednesday | 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
| Thursday to Saturday | 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
| Final week, Dec. 18 to 23 | 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily |
| Thanksgiving, Nov. 26 | 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
| Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 | 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26 this year, the date shown on the market operator's own site. The district's event page lists the holiday as November 27, so if you're planning around the short Thanksgiving hours, go by the operator's date.
On Monday through Wednesday, the market opens at noon and closes at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, it runs two hours later. A weeknight dinner on the plaza works best Thursday or later.
The market sits inside a bigger frame. Cherry Creek North calls the season Winter Wanderland, a set of free outdoor events, with more than a million lights across the district's 16 blocks.
The Giving Machines Outlast the Market
The Giving Machines arrive the same day as the market and run 24/7 at its entrance, 2nd Avenue and Fillmore Street, from November 19 through January 4, 2027. That's 11 days after the market stalls close on Christmas Eve, which makes the plaza corner one of the few holiday fixtures still running into the new year.
They work like vending machines, except each purchase is a donation. You pick an item, swipe a debit or credit card, and a card representing your gift drops into a bin. Receipts go by text or email. The local organizations listed include:
- Women's Bean Project
- Special Olympics Colorado
- Urban Peak
- Young Americans Center
International options include IDE and UNICEF USA.
Small Business Weekend runs Friday, November 27 through Monday, November 30 across Cherry Creek North. The district says participating shops and deals will be announced later and suggests checking each store's hours before you go.
A Restaurant Opens Mid-Season at The Fillmore
Partway through the market's run, the Fillmore side of the district gets a new evening anchor. Westword reported that The Henry, an upscale chain with a dozen locations nationwide, is set to open at The Fillmore on December 16. That's a Wednesday, two days before the market's extended final week begins.
The Henry comes from Fox Restaurant Concepts, which already runs North Italia and Flower Child in Cherry Creek. Per Westword, the Denver location will also be the first to open the sister concept Hank's Neighborhood Bar, expected later in 2027 in The Fillmore.
The Henry is a dinner destination opening during the district's busiest evening stretch, on the block that already draws the evening crowd. It fits how the Fillmore side already operates. The rest of this fall's announcements cluster on a different street and a different part of the day.
One Building on Milwaukee Street Moves Three Storefronts
The Oasis is a 177-apartment building that BMC Investments was nearing completion on Milwaukee Street. It carries about 26,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and the tenants announced so far change more than that one block.
Arhaus is on the building's tenant list. At the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, BusinessDen reported on October 8 that Pottery Barn will take the 13,400 square feet Arhaus currently occupies, a space facing 1st Avenue. Public records show a planned $1.3 million renovation, with a seasonal section at the entrance and dedicated areas for office, bedding and bath. No opening date was given. A single lease on Milwaukee Street sets off a chain that ends with a new home-goods store facing 1st Avenue on the mall side.
The food tenants matter more for daily routine. Two Hands, the Australian restaurant whose first Denver location is at 3985 Tennyson St. in Berkeley, leased about 3,400 square feet at 221 N. Milwaukee St. on The Oasis's ground floor. Founder and CEO Henry Roberts told BusinessDen in an August 31 story that it would open "this spring." Since that story ran in late summer, that points to spring 2027.
PopUp Bagels came as a direct result of that lease. According to the Denver Post, BMC had been talking with Two Hands about roughly 5,000 square feet. When the restaurant chose a smaller footprint, a broker on the deal suggested PopUp for the leftover space, which the Post lists at 299 Milwaukee St. The Connecticut-based chain has 51 stores, bakes throughout the day so bagels come out warm, and encourages customers to rip them apart and dip them in spreads instead of slicing them. Cherry Creek will be one of its first two Colorado shops, alongside one in Boulder's Moxy Hotel. No opening date has been announced.
BMC CEO Matt Joblon explained the bet to the Denver Post:
"There's just massive demand in Cherry Creek for more cost-effective breakfast and lunch options."
That's the clearest statement of where the district is heading. Fillmore Plaza and The Fillmore are building out Cherry Creek North's evenings and splurges. Milwaukee Street is filling in the 8 a.m. coffee run and the weekday lunch.
The Morning Side Reaches Detroit Street Too
The pattern continues a block over. BusinessDen reported on October 5 that Diana Flores, a Honduras native who has baked in Denver for a decade, plans to open Butterdrop Bakeshop at 250 Detroit St., next to Aviano Coffee, "come next year," which means 2027. It will be her first brick-and-mortar shop.
"We want to keep tradition and make you feel like you're eating something your mom or grandma made," Flores told BusinessDen.
A bakery next to an established coffee shop, a bagel counter, and an Australian café-style restaurant, all within a couple of blocks of Milwaukee and Detroit, add up to more daytime options than the district's restaurant headlines usually cover. None are open yet, and only Butterdrop and Two Hands have given a season or year.
What's Leaving, and What's Staying Put
Not every change this fall is an addition. Cherry Creek Dance, which sold its building at 2625 E. 3rd Ave. last year, will move to the Galleria at Cherry Creek office complex at 720 S. Colorado Blvd. in Glendale, about two miles away, according to BusinessDen. The studio says the new location will keep "the same amazing classes, incredible instructors and the joyful community you know and love." Families with winter classes on the calendar should expect the new address after the year-end move.
At least one familiar name is staying. When True Food Kitchen filed for bankruptcy and closed 12 locations in other states, BusinessDen reported on October 6 that its Cherry Creek restaurant would keep operating, along with the one in Boulder. The chain now has 34 stores in 14 states.
Your Cherry Creek North Calendar, November Through January
- November 19: The Holiday Market opens on Fillmore Plaza, Fillmore closes to traffic between 1st and 2nd Avenues, and the Giving Machines start running 24/7 at 2nd and Fillmore.
- November 26: Short Thanksgiving market hours, noon to 3 p.m.
- November 27 to 30: Small Business Weekend across the district.
- December 16: The Henry is scheduled to open at The Fillmore.
- December 18 to 23: The market's final week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
- December 24: The market closes for the season after a noon to 3 p.m. Christmas Eve session.
- Year-end: Cherry Creek Dance moves to 720 S. Colorado Blvd.
- January 4, 2027: Last day for the Giving Machines.
- 2027: Butterdrop Bakeshop on Detroit Street and Hank's Neighborhood Bar at The Fillmore are expected, and Two Hands is reported for spring. PopUp Bagels and Pottery Barn have not announced opening dates.
Storefront changes like these also shape what a Cherry Creek North address offers day to day. If you're curious how a new bakery around the corner or a busier Milwaukee Street might figure into your own plans next year, Alex Rice follows these blocks closely and is happy to talk it through. Start Your Home Journey.
