AMHERST — White Lion Brewing Company cut the ribbon on its second Western Massachusetts home with a grand opening ceremony at 24 North Pleasant St. in downtown Amherst.

A large gathering of community members, town and state officials took the street and sidewalk as owner Ray Berry was joined by Brewmaster and partner Mike Yates and University of Massachusetts Amherst and NBA great Marcus Camby for the event that attracted the crowd on the busy Thursday afternoon.

White Lion teamed up with Camby on its Marcus Camby New England IPA beer at its initial Springfield site in 2022.

“I think between these two iconic, the Marcus Camby brand and the White Lion brand, we can do some great things for the town of Amherst and the surrounding community, “Berry told the crowd.

“Mike Yates put his foot in that beer, that Marcus Camby New England IPA, and not only did he kill it, it’s one of our top sellers so again it just shows you can collaborate, you can come together” he said.

Camby who grew up in Hartford, Connecticut said Amherst is like his second home.

“I’d like to thank Ray, it started off as a small conversation and it materialized into a Marcus Camby IPA and now it materialized and here we are right now,” he said.

Camby thanked his partners and the crowd for their attention and patience.

“It wasn’t easy, it’s like a couple of years in the making but they say good things come to those who wait and we waited a long time to be here to share everything with you guys. Thank you, guys, for welcoming me back home and hopefully we’ll have tremendous success here,” Camby said.

The business takes over the spot previously home to Amherst and High Horse breweries.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman praised the addition to the downtown area as well as Amherst’s business climate.

“This is gigantic for our town, it’s a game changer and I think that going forward if you just look at our downtown and there’s like less than four percent vacancy, this town is thriving, it’s growing, it’s really blossoming and it’s a lot of work by the chamber and the BID and we thank them for the work that they did,” Bockelman said. “But this establishment right now is the one that’s making a big difference.”

Berry said the working partnerships are what make things happen.

“Community collaboration is the key to move the needle in the right direction for the greater good of everybody,” Berry said.

White Lion’s first location is in downtown Springfield.