The historic Domino Sugar Refinery on the Williamsburg waterfront is set to add a major new cultural anchor to its massive redevelopment: a 750-capacity music venue simply named Domino.
Slated to open its doors in April, the new performance space represents the latest evolution of the iconic industrial landmark along the Brooklyn waterfront. The venue is being developed as part of the broader transformation of the old factory building into modern office space, now officially known as the Refinery. Situated right next to the building’s newly opened Equinox gym with a dedicated entrance facing the river, the project aims to inject a fresh dose of nightlife and live entertainment back into a waterfront neighborhood that has seen a dramatic shift in its cultural landscape over the past decade.
The venue will be operated by TVG Hospitality, a prominent entertainment group led by Ben Lovett, a member of the band Mumford & Sons. TVG brings a wealth of experience to the table, having successfully managed and operated a portfolio of well-regarded entertainment spaces across the country, including Mitsi in Los Angeles as well as the Orion and the Saturn in Alabama.
For longtime residents of North Brooklyn, the arrival of a new performance space in this specific pocket of Williamsburg carries a heavy dose of nostalgia mixed with a sense of irony. If you are of a certain age and spent your weekends navigating the local indie music scene, the location is nothing short of fascinating. Old-timers may fondly—or perhaps warily—remember raucous nights spent at legendary DIY and underground venues situated just blocks away, including Glasslands, 285 Kent, and Death by Audio. All three of those influential spaces operated within a single block of one another before ultimately being shuttered by 2015, victims of shifting neighborhood economics and real estate pressures.
The generation of glossier, more established commercial spaces that emerged in the wake of those DIY hubs has also struggled to weather the changing times. The local outpost of the Knitting Factory permanently shut its doors in 2022, and the historic Music Hall of Williamsburg is scheduled to close its doors for good this December. These high-profile closures have left many wondering how an independent, noncorporate venue can possibly survive in a hyper-gentrified neighborhood where commercial real estate costs have skyrocketed. As real estate brokers have noted when assessing the local market, live music simply does not pencil out when commercial spaces command hundreds of dollars per square foot.
However, Domino enters the landscape with a few distinct advantages. With fewer direct competitors left standing in the immediate area, the venue may have a much easier time gathering and sustaining audiences. Furthermore, the project benefits from a very different kind of landlord than many independent venues typically encounter. Two Trees Management, the prominent Brooklyn real estate development firm headed by David and Jed Walentas, has a long-standing history of integrating the arts into its commercial properties. Rather than squeezing out creative tenants during market downturns, Two Trees has frequently utilized a strategy of handing over space and subsidizing studios for artists to make its developments more culturally vibrant and appealing to the public.
This philosophy was visibly demonstrated a decade ago when the firm welcomed artist Kara Walker to take over the cavernous, raw interior of the abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery for her monumental, sugar-coated sphinx sculpture—long before a single tech company or corporate office tenant ever signed a lease in the building.
When it comes to the day-to-day operations and artistic direction of the new venue, Two Trees will maintain a hands-off approach. According to the official press release announcing the project—a document that notably uses the word "independent" seven times—the venue’s programming will not be dictated by the real estate developers. Instead, events and cultural offerings will be overseen and reviewed by a dedicated "cultural board" comprised of New Yorkers hailing from diverse industries and creative backgrounds.
This diverse oversight committee aims to curate a broad and eclectic schedule of events that extends far beyond traditional rock concerts. The programming roadmap for Domino includes everything from live music and club nights to stand-up comedy, film screenings, live podcast tapings, and high-profile fashion and art events. In addition to public-facing cultural programming, the venue will also be available to rent out for private functions, such as weddings and corporate celebrations.
Visitors walking into the finished space can expect an industrial aesthetic that pays homage to the building’s rich history as a sugar-processing factory. AI renderings released by the project team showcase striking architectural details, including massive exposed structural I-beams that fit the Refinery’s rugged, industrial character. The interior layout features a standing-room ticketed general admission area clustered directly around the stage, complemented by tiered seating arrangements located further back to offer varied sightlines for patrons.
While the venue is designed to host lively club nights and energetic performances, neighbors and prospective concertgoers should not necessarily expect the return of the blistering, high-volume punk shows that defined Williamsburg’s underground past. Strict operational parameters have been established for the space, with press materials explicitly noting that the volume levels within the performance hall will be capped and will not exceed 100 decibels.
As April approaches and the final construction phases wrap up on the Williamsburg waterfront, Domino is poised to test whether a carefully curated, heavily subsidized model can successfully sustain live entertainment in a neighborhood that has traded much of its gritty countercultural legacy for high-end residential towers and corporate amenities.
