Cherry Creek North lost a long-running breakfast stop in August, when Syrup closed at 300 Josephine Street after 16 years. The cafes and bakeries announced to replace that kind of morning stop mostly open after the lights come down, and the most important one opens with eight days left in the holiday market.
The holiday calendar itself works the same way it has for years. The district's morning options are thinner than usual for most of the season and start filling back in near the end. That changes how you plan a visit, especially if you like to arrive early.
The season runs on its usual dates
Cherry Creek North calls its holiday program A Holiday Less Ordinary. It is a set of free outdoor events across the district's 16 blocks, which get more than a million lights. Windows Less Ordinary, the Holiday Cherry Hunt and Festive Sips run through the season.
| Date | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14, 2–7 p.m. | Denver BAZAAR free holiday market | Cherry Creek Shopping Center, 3000 E. First Ave. |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Million Light Plug-in and Giving Machines unveiling | Cherry Creek North |
| Nov. 19 – Dec. 24 | 7th annual Cherry Creek Holiday Market | Fillmore Plaza, between First and Second avenues |
| Nov. 19 – Jan. 4 | Giving Machines, open 24/7 | Market entrance at Second Avenue and Fillmore Street |
| Fri., Nov. 27 – Mon., Nov. 30 | Small Business Weekend | Throughout the district |
| Wed., Dec. 16 | The Henry opens | 201 Fillmore St. |
The official A Holiday Less Ordinary page doesn't give a time or exact spot for the Nov. 19 kickoff yet, so check back before you plan your evening around it. The Giving Machines are vending machines where you buy gifts for local organizations, and they stay up until Jan. 4, after the market has closed.
The market keeps afternoon hours
The Cherry Creek Holiday Market's hours mostly cover afternoons and evenings:
- Monday through Wednesday: noon to 7 p.m.
- Thursday through Saturday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Final week, Dec. 18–23: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day
- Christmas Eve: noon to 3 p.m.
The market's own site and the Cherry Creek North event page list different dates for Thanksgiving-week special hours, Nov. 26 on one and Nov. 27 on the other, so confirm before you go that week. The full bar is inside the Mistletoe Lounge, near the First Avenue end of the plaza.
So the market opens at 11 a.m. at the earliest. Anyone who comes into the district earlier for gifts, the window displays or a walk under the lights needs somewhere to eat first, and this year there are fewer of those places.
Why the morning gap exists
Naked Denver reported in July that the restaurant said the decision came down to economics and that it had been priced out of Cherry Creek. The same story pointed to the 2025/2026 State of Cherry Creek Report, which put retail vacancy at 1.9%. Asking lease rates in that report rose 16.2% in a year, from $31.02 to $36.05 per square foot.
Those numbers explain the timing problem. Space in the district gets leased quickly, but a new restaurant or bakery still takes months of buildout, so a lease signed this year often means an opening next year. Naked Denver also reported that the 300 Josephine space was marketed for occupancy starting Sept. 1.
Syrup's other locations in City Park, Capitol Hill, Edgewater and Downtown are still open. The restaurant has said its next new location will be elsewhere in the metro, not in Cherry Creek.
The new morning stops and their timelines
The new morning businesses are coming in stages, and most of them land after the holiday season. The two bakeries have only broad fall targets, so the first two entries could open in either order:
- Butterdrop Bakeshop, 250 Detroit St. This is the first storefront for founders Lynne Doherty and Diana Flores, next door to Aviano Coffee. Hoodline reported on Oct. 20 that the planned menu includes cookies, macarons, cake pops, muffins, scones, pies, cheesecakes and quiches, plus custom cakes. The bakery's website still says "Coming Soon" and "Opening Fall 2026," so treat it as a possible stop rather than a sure one.
- Trompeau Bakery, 3239 E. Second Ave. The Denver Post reported in May that owner Beth Ginsberg hoped to open this location, in the Global Down Syndrome Foundation building, in fall 2026. No updated opening date has been reported since.
- The Henry, 201 Fillmore St., Dec. 16. This is the restaurant that changes the season. More on it below.
- Hank's Neighborhood Bar, 201 Fillmore St., early 2027. This is a new spin-off bar next door to The Henry, with about 4,000 square feet including a patio. Its opening date is due early next year.
- Two Hands and PopUp Bagels, 299 Milwaukee St., 2027. Both have leased space at The Oasis, a 177-unit apartment building under construction. Bisnow reported in September that its retail tenants are expected to open throughout 2027. The Denver Post covered PopUp Bagels' lease the same month.
The two Milwaukee Street businesses are 2027 openings. The two bakeries have fall targets but no confirmed dates. The one opening with a firm date, The Henry, comes after almost four of the market's five weeks are done.
Dec. 16 changes the morning plan
Mile High CRE reported in September that The Henry, from Fox Restaurant Concepts, will open its first Colorado location at 201 Fillmore on Dec. 16. Fox already runs Flower Child and North Italia in Cherry Creek. The Henry is planned to open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a walk-up coffee bar serving breakfast every day, including laminated French pastries made in-house each morning. Weekend brunch, daily lunch and dinner, and a weekday happy hour are also planned.
Compare those hours with the market's. The Henry opens at 8 a.m., three hours before the market opens on its earliest days. It stays open until 10 p.m., an hour after the market closes on its latest nights. The building is on Fillmore Street, a short walk from the plaza's Second Avenue entrance, where the Giving Machines are. The Henry is the first new restaurant to cover the whole day around the market, and it opens two days before the market's extended final week begins on Dec. 18.
Dec. 16 is a scheduled date in a September announcement. It isn't a soft-opening calendar, so expect it to stay firm only until the restaurant says otherwise.
Planning your visits by week
The season breaks into three stretches. Each needs a slightly different plan.
Nov. 19 to Thanksgiving week. The lights, the kickoff and the market open together on a Thursday, when the market runs until 9 p.m. Evenings are the easiest visits in this stretch. Butterdrop and Trompeau may or may not be open by then, so check their own channels before you build a morning around them.
Small Business Weekend through mid-December. The Small Business Weekend runs Friday, Nov. 27, through Monday, Nov. 30. Participating shops and deals are still being posted on the district's event page, which asks shoppers to check each store's hours in advance. This is the busiest daytime shopping stretch with the fewest new places to eat breakfast. If you're starting before 11, plan your coffee around businesses that are already open.
Dec. 16 to Christmas Eve. The Henry opens on a Wednesday, when the market runs noon to 7 p.m. From Dec. 18 to Dec. 23 the market runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, and The Henry's coffee bar opens three hours earlier. For the first time this season, you can spend a whole day on Fillmore Street, from pastries at 8 to the Mistletoe Lounge at night. The market closes at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and the Giving Machines stay at Second and Fillmore until Jan. 4.
Two Hands and PopUp Bagels are expected on Milwaukee Street sometime in 2027. For this holiday season, the late-December weekdays are the easiest time to pair a morning visit with the market.
Rising rents and scarce space are deciding which businesses you'll find on Cherry Creek North's blocks this season. If you're curious what your own home is worth now, Rebl Homes can give you a current number using recent local sales. See your home's value now.
