Cicada Cinema started on Halloween 2016 at The Void, the warehouse venue. Five Bloomington volunteers put on a screening there. When The Void closed, the group packed its projector and speakers and kept going in borrowed rooms: the Orbit Room, the Back Door, Hopscotch Coffee, the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts. By its own count, 67 of those screenings were free to the public.
This Halloween marked ten years. The group isn't marking it in a borrowed room this time. Cicada is building its own theater at 615 N. Fairview St., Suite 1, right off the B-Line, next door to Friendly Beasts cidery.
Cicada is part of a pattern on the near west side this fall. Within a few blocks of the B-Line, a food truck, a pop-up cinema and a tea business that left its Walnut Street storefront are all moving into permanent spaces, each with a new format, new hours or a new kind of room. Before you head over, it helps to know which version you'll find.
Ten years of borrowed rooms, now about 70 seats
The Indiana Daily Student reported that the Fairview theater is planned with about 70 seats, concessions, a small lobby, cinema-quality projection and sound, and the ability to play VHS and laserdisc.
The bigger change is the schedule. A pop-up can only show films when someone lends it a room. According to Indiana Public Media, a permanent venue lets Cicada program more consistently and add family screenings, matinees and live-scored films. The lineup will still lean on independent, older, new and locally made films.
The opening date has moved before. In June, Indiana Public Media described it as late summer. As of late October, Cicada's own site still said the theater was in buildout and that the group hoped to open in October 2026. Cicada is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and its email list is the fastest way to find out when the first ticketed screening is set.
Next door, the Friendly Beasts taproom is closed for the move to the same address and hasn't posted a reopening date. The cidery calls its taproom all-ages with a dog-friendly patio, and it says it plans to expand what the taproom offers at the new spot. Its Visit page still lists weekly Thursday trivia and Sunday growler discounts. If those are why you go, check whether they've restarted at Fairview before you plan a Thursday around them.
Why a tea company ended up on 11th Street
The clearest look at why these businesses are landing west of the B-Line comes from Cup & Kettle. For years, Jessica Messmer ran Cup & Kettle as a café on Walnut Street, next to the old Princess Theatre. It hosted tea parties, workshops and comedy nights. The business gave up that storefront early this year and went back to online sales.
The B Square Bulletin reported that it's now back at 1331 W. 11th St., in a building owned by Adam Nahas, the founder of Artisan Alley. The B Square describes the new space as "smaller on retail and bigger on production." Cup & Kettle blends, packages and ships tea there and keeps a small retail corner. The roughly 50 loose-leaf blends from the old shop are back, and custom blending is becoming a bigger part of the business.
The zoning is what explains the location. According to the same B Square report, the property is in a mixed-use employment zoning district. Cup & Kettle needed conditional-use approval for artisan manufacturing, and the city's hearing officer granted it in mid-July. That approval came with some remaining site work, including asphalt and striped accessible parking. A blending floor, a 70-seat screening room and a cider taproom all need more square footage and different uses than a downtown storefront is built for. The near west side can offer both.
The production model has a garden attached, too. Messmer has a plot at IU's Hilltop Garden & Nature Center, where the plan is to grow herbs and other plants for the company's botanical teas. The Indiana Daily Student reported that the owners have talked about a tea-pickup spot at College Mall, plus blending classes and pop-ups. All of those are plans for now. If you want to walk in and buy a tin, call ahead. The B Square's directions: head west on Kirkwood to Adams Street, go north on Adams to 11th, then west about 200 yards. The building sits on the south side of the street at the end of a long driveway.
A food truck that now closes at 2 p.m.
Planted Bloomington follows the same pattern from the food side. The plant-based food truck has been around since 2023. On Friday, Oct. 23, it opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant at 400 W. Sixth St. That puts it near Bloomingfoods Near West at 316 W. Sixth, which the co-op describes as about a block from the Square.
The new room keeps daytime hours only: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends. Daylight saving time ended Sunday, Nov. 1, so those hours cover the brightest part of a November day.
In the restaurant's announcement, published by the Indiana Daily Student, owner Nicole Schonemann said the team wanted the space "to feel warm and cozy, like a playful home rather than a fancy restaurant." The room was remodeled with reclaimed barnwood, wood from a tree that fell in a storm, and materials from the Habitat ReStore. The plates, bowls and cups come from local thrift stores, and the restaurant uses no single-use plastic.
Chef Leah brought over truck favorites like the Violet. It's a banh mi-inspired flatbread with crispy lemongrass fried tofu, ginger tamarind sauce, mint, cilantro, jalapeño and spicy mayo. New dishes include the Bacon Rebel Brie & Me Redux, with vegan bacon, jam, caramelized onions and arugula. The truck isn't gone, either. Planted's site still advertises catering and notes that the catering menu is different from what's served "on our truck."
The downtown rooms they left are already filling
The move west leaves room for new businesses downtown. Cup & Kettle's old storefront at 208 N. Walnut St. reopened in September as Lucky Bowl & Tea. Lucky Lu and Lin Lin Su run it, with Chef Chen, and the menu is Japanese ramen, appetizers and desserts. In late September, the Herald-Times reported that drinks weren't on the menu yet. A tea bar was planned for the front of the shop, and boba was expected by the end of October. So the space that sold loose-leaf tea for years is getting a tea counter again, from a different business.
A block over, 118 W. Sixth St. is on its third name in recent memory. It used to be The Owlery. Then it was Hoosier Hanks, which closed both of its Bloomington locations in September. The Herald-Times reported Oct. 6 that the space will become Bucceto's third shop. In late October, Bucceto's locations page still showed only its East 3rd and West 3rd restaurants, and no opening date had been announced for Sixth Street.
Where each one stands this week
| Business | Address | What it is now | Status as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planted Bloomington | 400 W. Sixth St. | Plant-based lunch and brunch; truck and catering continue | Open since Oct. 23, Wed–Sun, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Cicada Cinema | 615 N. Fairview St., Suite 1 | Nonprofit theater, about 70 seats | In buildout; hoped to open October 2026 |
| Friendly Beasts | 615 N. Fairview St. | Cidery taproom | Taproom temporarily closed for the move; no date posted |
| Cup & Kettle | 1331 W. 11th St. | Tea blending and production, small retail corner | Operating; call ahead for retail hours |
| Lucky Bowl & Tea | 208 N. Walnut St. | Ramen, appetizers, desserts | Open since September; boba targeted for end of October |
| Bucceto's | 118 W. Sixth St. | Third Bucceto's location | Announced; no opening date |
You can cover most of this on foot from the Square on a weekend:
- Start at 208 N. Walnut and see whether Lucky Bowl's tea bar has opened.
- Walk west on Sixth past 118 W. Sixth to check on the Bucceto's buildout.
- Have brunch at Planted, 400 W. Sixth, before the kitchen closes at 2.
- Pick up the B-Line and head to 615 N. Fairview, where the doors will show whether Cicada and Friendly Beasts have opened.
- If Cup & Kettle confirms it's open, follow the B Square's route to 1331 W. 11th.
Most of this list has a date still to come. The businesses' own websites and social accounts will be first to announce Cicada's first screening, the Friendly Beasts reopening, Lucky Bowl's boba and the Bucceto's opening.
Following how Bloomington blocks change, one storefront at a time, is part of what Amanda Richardson does every day with Amanda Sells Indiana. Whether you're curious about what's next on the near west side or wondering how new neighbors like these could shape the streets around your home, Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll talk it through over a coffee, or a cup of tea.
