Denver business owners close store due to arson, drug use near library

DENVER — A small Denver business is closing its doors after a second case of arson in six months.

ReFillanthropy opened on East Bayaud Avenue last year, but on Tuesday morning the front half of the store was burned down.

The Denver Fire Department said the fire broke out around 4:45 a.m. Denver police arrested Andrew Harris, who was allegedly caught on video setting the building's front door on fire. Harris was previously arrested for another arson case in 2021 and pleaded guilty in 2023.

“I don’t think we’ll come back as some sort of retail storefront in the future,” said Vesper Holly Muck, co-owner of ReFillanthropy.

Muck and his business partner, William Mathewson, said the area was a hotbed of crime, drug use and homelessness. The business's owners were victims of an arson attack in February, when a man set fire to their front door and then went to the nearby Ross-Broadway Library.

“The library is kind of a magnet for people who are struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues,” Muck said.

Mathewson and Muck aren't the only ones to blame the library. The owner of Coco Coquette, located next to ReFillanthropy, also raised concerns.

“I get sprayed with graffiti all the time,” said Heather Farris, owner of Coco Coquette. “I have to constantly clean up drug paraphernalia outside my doors.”

Farris cited constant drug use and homeless encampments near the library as the reason for closing his store. She launched Coco Coquette in 2019, and even though she still has several months left on her lease, she said enough is enough.

“I’d rather pay rent for an empty space than have to deal with the stress of physically being here,” Farris said.

Denver Public Library spokeswoman Erika Martinez said the library was not responsible for the vandalism.

“That’s not our problem,” Martinez said. “This is not a Denver Public Library problem. This is a societal problem.”

The Ross-Broadway branch has a team of community resources, peer navigators and social workers who help individuals with everything from food to housing to navigating employment resources. Additionally, the library has regular security guards patrolling the grounds, and camping is not permitted.

Denver business owners close shop due to arson, drug use near library on Bayaud Avenue

Martinez said that while the services they provide may attract unruly customers, they are necessary services to the community.

“We believe these resources are crucial for people’s personal development,” Martinez said.

But Bayaud's businesses do not accept the library's responses.

“It’s a societal problem, but they lure people in and give them a semi-safe place,” Mathewson said.

The owners argued that security needed to be increased and that some of the services provided at the library should be moved elsewhere.

Muck and Mathewson said they lost about $25,000 in inventory. ReFillanthropy will not reopen a retail store, but Muck said they may still operate the business in local markets.

“It’s like seeing your dream literally go up in flames,” Muck said.