Lexington, KY -The nightclub facility for the former location of The Blue Moon Saloon (most recently The Moon Saloon) will reopen on Aug. 19 under new a ownership and moniker, Forte.
John Sims, the Euclid Avenue club's new owner, was a DJ at the location from 1998 - 2008, when he left to pursue his own nightclub concept - Bar None, a non-alcoholic bar and restaurant on Old Vine Street, which later closed. Sims said he won't be bringing the unique Bar None concept to Forte, but he will be bringing a deep catalogue of fun music he says everybody will enjoy.
"I hate to say, 'wedding reception,' but it is like a wedding reception," Sims said. "You'll be able to hear Motown to rock 'n roll to some of the new stuff - upbeat music that everybody wants to hear. I'll take control of that. I'm a DJ by trade. ... I'm going to be wearing many hats it looks like at the beginning here."
Aside from a new painted facade and some minor layout changes inside, Forte won't undergo many physical changes. Sims said the real change will be how the club begins to integrate into the community of businesses in the Chevy Chase area; he says he has already consulted with adjacent business owners and neighborhood associations.
"We're going to try to bring the Blue Moon back to its heyday. We want to take it back to a good, upstanding place of business in that community," he said. "We had a good place for college kids to come, but if you were 55, 60 years old, you could still come in and have a good time and hear music that you like."
As somebody who has been in the entertainment industry for decades - Sims founded Sims Party Service in 1986 - and as a lifelong resident of the area, Sims said he's had his eye on the club for a long time.
"It's always been my dream to take this place over," he said. "I'm there now, and I want to put it back up to good standing and have it the place to be in Chevy Chase for all folks."