This Winter, Cherry Creek North's Newest Storefronts Line Fillmore Street for Five Weeks

Where is the newest shop in Cherry Creek North going to be on November 19? It will be on Fillmore Street between 1st and 2nd avenues. On that day the block closes to traffic and fills with dozens of local makers for the seventh annual Cherry Creek Holiday Market. The permanent storefronts that have drawn the most attention this fall sit a few blocks east on Milwaukee Street, and they are on a 2027 timeline.

So for the next seven weeks, the most new retail you can reach on foot will be temporary. Some of it is a booth, some is a bar in a lounge, and some is a vending machine that runs around the clock. Each piece keeps its own hours and its own closing date.

A closed street that works as a shopping center

The market runs every day from November 19 through December 24, 2026. The producer is Fetch Concepts, and the market's own Attend page describes "45+ rotating local makers, designers and creators" set up outdoors on Fillmore. Admission is free.

The vendor lineup rotates, which is the main difference from the district's permanent retail. If you walk the block the first weekend and again the week before Christmas, you may see different booths. Food is spread through the market. The operator lists vendors serving food from Ukraine, Romania and Italy, plus cookies, pickles and brittle.

The market's anchor is Mistletoe Lounge, near 1st Avenue and Fillmore. It holds the full bar, and the coffee, espresso, tea and nonalcoholic drinks are there too, directly south of the holiday light orb. Most of the live music plays inside the lounge, and caroling groups walk the rest of the block.

The operator's notes for anyone coming from a nearby block:

• Leashed dogs are welcome.
• Cable ramps have been minimized to make the market easier with strollers.
• The paths between booths are wide enough for accessibility, and bartenders are trained to watch for guests who need help ordering.

Market hours, including the two short days

The market's operator lists the Thanksgiving hours above under November 26, which is when Thanksgiving falls this year. If you plan a walk over after dinner, the booths will already be closed. In the final week, the Monday through Wednesday hours run two hours past the usual 7 p.m. close. That makes Dec. 21 through 23 the latest weeknight shopping of the season.

The season around the market

The market is the largest piece of what Cherry Creek North calls A Holiday Less Ordinary, a set of free outdoor events across the district's 16 blocks. Here are the dated pieces, in order:

1. Thursday, Nov. 19. The season kicks off with the Million Light Plug-in, which lights up more than a million lights across the district, and the unveiling of the Giving Machines. The Holiday Market opens the same day.
2. Friday, Nov. 27, to Monday, Nov. 30. Small Business Weekend runs throughout the district. The BID suggests checking each store's hours before you go.
3. Saturday, Dec. 12, 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday Night Lights brings music, dancing and entertainment to Civica Plaza, 250 Fillmore St. It is free and open to all ages.
4. Thursday, Dec. 24. The market's last day, with short hours.
5. Monday, Jan. 4. The Giving Machines shut off, 11 days after the market closes.

The district is also running holiday window displays it calls Windows Less Ordinary, a Holiday Cherry Hunt, and Festive Sips at businesses across the district.

The machines that outlast the market

The Giving Machines are the one part of the season that keeps going after Fillmore reopens to traffic. They stand at the market entrance at 2nd Avenue and Fillmore Street and run 24 hours a day from November 19 through January 4. You choose a gift, swipe a debit or credit card, and a card for that gift drops into a bin. The BID says your information is not collected or shared, and a receipt comes by text or email.

The named local recipients are Women's Bean Project, Special Olympics Colorado, Urban Peak and Young Americans Center. International organizations including IDE and UNICEF USA are also on the machines. Because the machines never close, they are the easiest part of the season to fit around a dog walk at 7 a.m. or a late dinner on 2nd Avenue, long after the booths shut for the night.

Parking on a block that has turned into a market

Closing Fillmore between 1st and 2nd takes a full block of curb space out of the district for five weeks. Cherry Creek North's meter rules are $2 per hour with a 15-minute minimum and a three-hour limit, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Parking is free on Sundays and select holidays.

The market operator points visitors to the district's parking guide and notes that "there is a lot of reduced fee parking after 5pm in the district." The BID encourages rideshare or a nearby garage, particularly for the Giving Machines at 2nd and Fillmore. For neighbors within walking distance, the timing works out well. Sundays bring free meters and a market open until 7 p.m. Apart from Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, a Thursday-to-Saturday visit after 5 p.m. still leaves four hours before the booths close.

The permanent storefronts on a longer timeline

The fall's biggest Cherry Creek retail news centered on the Oasis, a 177-unit residential project on Milwaukee Street with 26,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Hoodline, citing the Denver Business Journal, reported in October that the Oasis is scheduled to begin opening in 2027. Its expected co-tenants include the home furnishings brand Arhaus and the café Two Hands.

The Denver Post reported that Two Hands plans its second Denver location at 221 N. Milwaukee St., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a coffee window and a patio. In September, the Post reported that PopUp Bagels leased space at 299 Milwaukee St. in the same building. The developer, Matt Joblon, told the paper that Cherry Creek has

"massive demand" for lower-cost breakfast and lunch.

The Arhaus thread ties the Oasis to the mall. BusinessDen reported on October 8 that Pottery Barn plans to take the 13,400-square-foot Arhaus space at Cherry Creek Shopping Center, facing 1st Avenue, and spend $1.3 million renovating it. The mall is one of three Simon properties in a $250 million-plus investment program. A Hollister interior renovation at 3000 E. First Ave. received permit approval on October 22, according to Hoodline.

Other changes on the district's edges follow the same pattern:

• BoxBox is slated to open at 3003 E. 3rd Ave. in early 2027 in the former Sweet Izzy space, BusinessDen reported.
• Butterdrop Bakeshop is planned for 250 Detroit St., next to Aviano Coffee, according to BusinessDen.
• Cherry Creek Dance will stop operating at 2625 E. 3rd Ave., its home since 2009, at the end of the year and move to the Galleria at Cherry Creek, 720 S. Colorado Blvd. in Glendale, after a sale of the property, BusinessDen reported.
• True Food Kitchen is keeping its Cherry Creek restaurant open while the chain goes through bankruptcy, according to BusinessDen.

Across Cherry Creek on the west side, the Cherry Creek West redevelopment runs on an even longer schedule. A March project update from East West Partners and Ascentris projected road, utility and creek work continuing through late 2027 and the first building delivered in summer 2029.

Put on one calendar, these dates leave a gap. Between the Million Light Plug-in on November 19 and the first Oasis storefronts in 2027, the newest places to shop, eat and drink in Cherry Creek North will be the rotating makers, Mistletoe Lounge and the Giving Machines at 2nd and Fillmore. The booths come down after Christmas Eve, and the machines go dark on January 4.

If you own in Cherry Creek and want to talk through what the Oasis, the mall's new tenants or Cherry Creek West could mean for your property's value or your plans, Brian Richardson at Buildings & Residences of Denver follows these changes closely and is glad to help. Contact Us whenever it's useful.