It’s official. About a week ago, the Mojo Cafe on Third Street and Seventh Avenue was sold to a new owner. Small changes are already afoot. The new owner moved some of the furniture and refrigerator cases around. The shop is already noticibly more roomy. As far as I can tell, there are no changes in personnel.

So far, it’s been a fairly seamless transition from one owner to the other. Michael, the old owner posted this gracious comment on OTBKB yesterday:

To all my friends and customers at Mojo Cafe thank-you for allowing me to serve you and be a part of the community for 6 wonderful years.  Remember Corey, Park Slope’s finest barista, is still there. I’ll see you on the Avenue.

I’ll be the first one to admit that I was dubious when the Mojo/Carvel opened six years ago. The corner storefront had been empty for a long time. It had once been a Ben’s of Soho Pizza. After that, a completely inept operation called the Rendezvous Cafe opened after months of renovation. They had pages of musical notation wallpapered to the wall, as well as maps and things. There was very little food or beverage as far as I could tell.
The place closed within a month. A true mystery. What the hell was it? I always wonder if it was a front for something.

When the Mojo opened I knew it would be sucessful as a Carvel but I wondered who in their right mind would want to spend cafe-time there.

Boy, was I wrong. The Mojo is practically the Town Square of Third Street. I for one go in there many times a day. I meet friends and have PTA committee meetings there. It’s my conference room-away-from-home.

For god’s sake, my daughter has her breakfast there practically every day. Of course,  it’s a sprinkled Krispy Kreme donut – not the most nutritious breakfast. Whatever.

The Mojo has many moods. Early in the morning it’s a quiet breakfast spot for locals.

In the half-hour before the start of school at PS 321 and the schools in the John Jay building, it becomes a hectic stop for last minute breakfasts and lunch supplies.

After drop-off, the Mojo becomes a meeting place for parents and caregivers. The women I’ve dubbed, The Women Who Rule Park Slope, meet there on a regular basis This coffee clatch is like a Park Slope (left wing) version of ABC’s  "The View." On the patio or inside, the talk is lively, topical and intelligent.

By 10 a.m. or so the parents with school-age  children have moved on to home or city offices, and the Mojo becomes a friendly hangout for caregivers and stroller-aged kids.

Lunchtime brings the mad rush of the PS 321 lunch scene, the 4th and 5th graders who are allowed to go out for lunch. Barista Cory expertly watches over the scene and makes sure that there is some semblance of order and that the kids remember to throw away their trash.

In the hour or so before PS 321 pick-up, things are fairly quiet: the calm before the storm.

At 3 p.m. all hell breaks lose. Parents and kids converge on the Mojo for hot dogs, ice cream, coffee, various and sundry after school snacks. The shop rocks with the energy of children just released from school classrooms.

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Last year around 4 p.m. or so, the patio of the Mojo became a huge gathering place for the teenagers of Park Slope. Things were known to get a bit rowdy. Their presence was, understanably, annoying to the owner and I believe that he put the kibosh on it. Those kids m

oved on to the playground at PS 321 – and that’s another story.

What a vital place the Mojo has become in the six years of its existence. As a resident of Third Street and a parent, I wish to thank him for making the Mojo a place I never thought it could be: a really cool Carvel. It sounds like a contradiction in terms but it isn’t. The Mojo is a place the people of Park Slope hold near and dear.

Best of luck to Michael who has decided to move on and do something new. And welcome to the new owner (whose name I don’t yet know).

Thanks for giving us a place to be – in the many phases of our day.