Mo's Co-Owners To Nabe: "We're Saving The Day"

No one could blame Calvin Clark and Dorly Ninio for a being a bit... well, cagey about talking about their new business venture at 80 Lafayette Ave., formerly home to Moe's Tavern. 

From rumors of a new name, , which turned out to be just that — to scattered demonstrations of outrage over their bar's real moniker, Mo's (sans-e), the buzz over Clark and Ninio's soon-to-be-opened watering hole has not always been complimentary. 

"I think this blogosphere, you know, chatter... I don't think it's consequential to proving ourselves as a neighborhood bar," Ninio said in a conversation in the still-unfinished space on Friday. "When people come in and have a good experience and it's around the corner and their friends go there, it doesn't matter really."

But judging from gatherings such as this one organized by former Moe's regulars last week, there is still a large coterie of the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill drinking populace that wouldn't be caught dead at the new Mo's — which by the way, looks a bit like a ski lodge-themed version of the old bar, with wood paneling, chairs, benches, etc.

Responding to the Moe's purists still incensed by the prospect of a Mo's at 80 Lafayette, Clark — who is also an owner of Langston's on Atlantic Avenue — thought their nostalgia was misplaced. 

"The Moe's that closed wasn't the Moe's that was here five years ago," he said. 

As for questions about the familiar moniker given the space, which at least one Fort Greene Patch reader said lacked "originality" via Twitter, both co-owners went quickly on the offensive.

"We're saving the day. We're going to keep this popular spot a bar, a local bar, we're not going to change the price," Calvin said. "It can be any name, but the people and their energy, their experience, is what makes a space a space — otherwise, it's just brick and mortar."

But at the same time, it seemed guaranteed that the vibe at the newly opened Mo's would be much different from the old. 

For one, the new business will be a much more of a day/night operation, with the bar transformed into something more akin to a coffee shop (with outlets every four feet, Clark boasted) while the sun is up.

However, despite the bar's detractors and the somewhat-off timing of the unveiling of the bar's new name (which only coincidentally, the new owners say, happened on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the old Moe's), Clark and Ninio seemed genuinely committed to delivering on a welcoming neighborhood space.

"Fort Greene is for everyone and our bar is going to be for everyone," Ninio said. "Black or white, gay or straight."