From Staff Reports 

The Grail Moviehouse, an indy cinema in downtown Asheville, announced May 20 it is leaving its 45 S. French Broad venue and “working on relocating” to an undisclosed Asheville location. 

“This is already in the works, and during the downtime we expect to be doing some popup events, and we will be continuing the Sofa Cinema online,” a press release noted.

Grail’s owners, Davida Horwitz and Steve White, said they are moving their indie theater to a location that will enable them to create a space designed for social distancing for as long as it is needed, rather than rto eopen to uncertainty at their current building. 

“For some time now, we’ve been considering finding a new location for the Grail,” the release stated. “As the pandemic unfolded it was clear that we had to make a hard choice between investing in our current space or moving ahead early with relocating. Last week, we decided to accelerate the process, and rather than reopen to uncertainty at our current building, we are taking this time to relocate the Grail... We see this choice as the best possible option both financially and for the safety of our employees and our customers.”