Lancaster Builds

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

This past Saturday West Art hosted a grand opening party for their new coffee bar in the renovated church building at 816 Buchanan Ave.

Since acquiring the 15,697 sq. ft. property in April 2023 for $575,000, owners, Rufus Deakin and Josh Gibbel, renovated and re-opened sections of it piece by piece. Prior to the coffee bar opening, the former sanctuary was repurposed into a general event space for concerts, weddings and yoga classes.

The property was originally constructed in 1926. West Art’s recent renovation efforts were largely executed piecemeal by individual artisans including Chris Ness, who recycled pieces of the former church organ to construct the bar. The curtains between the event space and coffee bar were hand-crafted by SeamWorks. Design and installation work in the space was supported by Lancaster-based event agency, Nimblist.

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

^{Photo by Joseph Sitzwohl}

Mirrors in the downstairs bathroom were all donated by the local community.