Night Market Denver changes name to Made By Us
Retail group plans expansion in Rino
Night Market Denver, which publicly severed ties with founder Virgil Dickerson last week over assault allegations levied against him, has changed its name to Made By Us and will relaunch this week, organizers said.
“Just in the last few days since we announced the new name, 80-plus vendors have contacted us to participate,” said Jose De La Torre, whose Terra Apothecary is one of the founding members of the merchant collective.
Made By Us planned to officially relaunch Thursday night, with 15 to 20 vendors at the Dairy Block, followed by events at Fort Greene bar (6-9 p.m. March 26 and 27) and East Colfax Avenue’s Tessa Delicatessen (10 a.m.-1 p.m. March 28).
With a sprightly, pasteldren ched logo and newly de-
centralized leadership — Dickerson formerly controlled everything, whereas now a half-dozen business owners and operators make decisions, De La Torre said — Made By Us seems ready to put controversy behind it.
“That was a lesson learned,” De La Torre said. “We’re sharing the workload because we really want to be a collective going forward, and not focused on one person.”
The outdoor retail event, which features food, art and crafts, apparel, home goods and other locally made, artisan goods, was a lifeline to ailing retailers when it debuted in RiNo in September. Some began to depend on it, given the restricted capacities and hours for their brick-and-mortar locations.
But despite widespread media coverage
for founder Dickerson and his Kream Kimchi company, assault allegations trailed the former, longtime Illegal Pete’s employee through late 2020 and early 2021 on social media. In early March, many in the Denver cultural scene finally became aware of them, leading to soul searching and public statements disavowing any connection to Dickerson.
Night Market Denver members have said they were unaware of incidents or complaints related to Dickerson at their events. They simply want to move on and shed the negative association.
“We anticipate that as we grow and find new venues, we’ll definitely be mixing it up with new faces and makers,” De La Torre said. “And we have some things we’re going to announce soon that will definitely make it a more immersive experience.”