Free Market Wants to Be a Cultural Hub in Denver

Free Market, a collective of evolving brands, events and experiences tailored to the community, has opened an 11,000-square-foot flagship in downtown Denver’s Dairy Block micro-district. The store is part of an ambitious rollout that will include a 27,000-square-foot Free Market bowing later this year at Playa Vista Runway in Los Angeles. “We’re always going to be tweaking it, but it’s surpassed our expectations on opening weekend, May 18-19,” said cofounder Raan Parton. “The brands are very excited about their sales just out of the gate. All of the stores surpassed the sales of their other flagships. Jenni Kayne is on track to do $600 to $700 per square foot.” Besides Kayne, other brands include AYR, Aesop, Westerlind, Claire V., Beautycounter, Rosemont Barber Shop, Fortuna Chocolate and Alchemy Works, which sells apothecary products, jewelry, leather goods and found items that appeal to Raand and his wife, Lindsay Parton, who launched the store in 2013. The Partons installed Warby Parker in the space next door to Free Market. The eyewear brand operates shop-in-shops at the two original Alchemy Works locations, in the Los Angeles Arts District and Newport Beach, Calif. The Maven Hotel occupies another of the Dairy Block’s historic properties. James Beard semifinalist Kelly Whitaker

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