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Poetry Cafe Turned Comedy Club Celebrates 20 Years in Fort Greene

By Janet Upadhye | January 15, 2015 5:02pm | Updated on January 16, 2015 4:58pm
 The restaurant/bar/comedy club located at 745 Fulton St., is a neighborhood institution.
Brooklyn Moon Celebrates 20 Years in Fort Greene
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FORT GREENE — Fort Greene's original poetry café is celebrating 20 years in the neighborhood.

Brooklyn Moon, which provided a place for performers and artists to congregate since it was founded in 1995, is celebrating the milestone with food, DJs and a live band Thursday evening from 3-11 p.m.

The café emerged during what many refer to as Fort Greene's renaissance — a time when locals including director Spike Lee, artist Lorna Simpson, and actress Rosie Perez were making names for themselves.

Some of Brooklyn Moon's patrons over the years include Erykah Badu, Chris Rock, Mos Def and Nelson George, according to owner Mike Thompson.

Thompson opened the restaurant to fill a void in the neighborhood, he said.

There was an overflow of artists in Fort Greene but no place for them to perform and display their artwork so, with very little money to his name, he decided to open Brooklyn Moon at 745 Fulton St.

“I took every penny I had and dumped it into this,” Thompson told Our Time Press last May. “When I was done renovating, landlord fees and what have you, I had a $100 to my name."

But the café was an immediate hit due in large part to Thompson's open mic poetry nights that gave it a central role in Fort Greene's literary community.

“I went from there on guts and glory, I made mistakes along the way, I’ve had divine help come by and make things become better again,” Thompson told Our Time.

Thompson no longer hosts poetry nights but he does open the mic for comedians like the recent "Brown Girl Comedy Show."

Brooklyn Moon is also known for its food.

Originally from Barbados, Thompson planned Brooklyn Moon's menu to reflect food from his home including curries, fish and chicken made with Bajan spices.

The current menu features items like "cat eggs," plantains wrapped in turkey bacon, Bajan rice n' peas, jerk chicken and fried whiting.