Cherry Lane Theatre’s Legacy Gets a Modern Twist with A24 — and a Nod to Brewing Roots
How A24’s restoration of the historic Cherry Lane reflects its past life as a brewery — and why that matters to a former West Village local.
I used to live on Christopher Street in the West Village — just around the corner from Cherry Lane Theatre, a building that’s always felt like it held a piece of Old New York in its bricks. But what many people don’t realize is that long before it became a storied off-Broadway house, the site was once a brewery.
Fast forward to March 2023: A24, the indie film studio beloved for its audacious stories, bought the Cherry Lane Theatre for about $10 million. Over the next two years, A24 led a major renovation — upgrading lighting and sound, revamping the lobby, and restoring the stage — transforming the space into a modern cultural hub.
When the theatre officially reopened in September 2025, it did so with a week of celebratory performances and film screenings, including a “Sundays with Sofia” series curated by Sofia Coppola. A24 also brought in Wild Cherry, a restaurant-bar created by chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, who previously ran Frenchette and Le Rock.
All this feels deeply personal to me — not just because I used to walk past the theatre every day, but because I know what it means for that corner of the Village to hold on to its layered history. Once a brewery, then a place of artistic experiment, now a place that marries cinema, performance, and community. It’s a full-circle moment.
And there’s another layer that makes it even richer: Brooklyn Brewery has a beer called Cherry Lane Theatre Playhouse Pilsner. The name, the place, the memory — it suggests an unspoken bridge between brewing and theatre, between past and present.
A24’s vision for the theatre leans into that magic. Under their care, Cherry Lane isn’t just a stage; it’s a gathering place for artists, cinephiles, and locals who’ve watched the Village shift and change. It’s a living tribute to what once was — and what’s being imagined today.
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