MAIMONIDE OF BROOKLYN CELEBRATES ITS GRAND OPENING!




Cyril Aouizerate, owner of Maimonide of Brooklyn, shows off his Brooklyn Bridge necklace


If you need a fun place to hang out with friends or to host an event without breaking your New Year's resolution to stay healthy, look no further than Maimonide of Brooklyn.

For months, I walked by a storefront on Atlantic avenue whose windows were covered with the image of a cartoon character. I always assumed it was going to be a graphic design office or a comicbook store.

About a month ago, I entered a gorgeous loft-like space filled with wooden communal tables.  Turned out that Maimonide is a restaurant.  And looking around, I was already visualizing this as an amazing space to host an event.

I brought a few friends by to experience Maimonide and this week had an opportunity to connect with it and the folks who work hard behind the scenes to make it all happen.

Tuesday, a bunch of us writers gathered around the big tables for a press preview luncheon.  It was so much fun to experience this place with other writers, including folks from The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine's Grub Street, and Daily Candy. The food was delicious and the staff incredibly welcoming and friendly.

Before leaving the lunch, I got to sit down with Maimonide owner and French restaurateur and hotelier Cyril Aouizerate and get to know him a bit better.  A father of four children, Cyril flies back and forth between here and his home in France, spending a week out of every month in NY.  He is a former professor of philosophy, and named Maimonide after a famous Jewish philosopher.

Wednesday night was the Grand Opening bash for Maimonide, and it was PACKED with all kinds of folks from all different scenes.  What an awesome surprise to hear on the day of the event that the Grandaddy of Hip Hop Afrika Bambaataa would be doing a DJ set!  Louis C.K. was there, along with tons of other folks.

Had great conversations with Patrick Kwan of SuperVegan. and with Ouigi Theodore of The Brooklyn Circus.

What I most love about this place is that it embodies Brooklyn's creative, communal, and collaborative spirit.  Hope to see Maimonide live a long life here!