A24's new theater will feature food from one of NYC's hottest restaurant groups

You don’t usually expect duck rillettes with your night at the theater, but then again, this isn’t just any theater. A24, the indie film juggernaut behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Babygirl, is transforming the West Village’s historic Cherry Lane Theatre into a buzzy new hub for screenings, performances and cultural happenings—and they’re bringing in a serious culinary co-star.

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Enter Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, the powerhouse chefs behind Frenchette, Le Rock and the recently rebooted Le Veau d’Or. According to Eater, the duo’s latest project will be a full-service restaurant and bar in the theater’s lobby, slated to open this fall. City filings show that the restaurant will be an intimate 60-seat space that will allow theatergoers to arrive early and linger long after the curtain call.

It’s a savvy match. A24 already dipped into the food game with its own line of chocolate bars and the Frenchette team is no stranger to pairing fine dining with culture (see: Frenchette Bakery inside the Whitney Museum). At Le Veau d’Or, they’ve shown a flair for honoring historic spaces while turning out food that feels timeless, not tired, a promising preview of what might be on offer at Cherry Lane.

The 1923 theater, tucked along winding Commerce Street in the West Village, has long been a haven for off-Broadway experimentation, with a résumé that includes Beckett, Mamet and even Bob Dylan. But after years of financial woes, it was sold to A24 in 2023 for just over $10 million, per The New York Times. The studio plans to breathe new life into the venue with a mix of film, theater and community programming.

Though A24 has been tight-lipped about the specifics, adding a chef-driven bar and restaurant suggests the Cherry Lane reboot will go beyond popcorn and playbills. Think more aperitifs, fewer intermissions. Whether you’re there for an avant-garde play or an intimate film screening, one thing’s clear: this will be dinner and a show—emphasis on the dinner.