Blue Moon Too brunch spot leaving Federal Hill, reopening in Hampden

Federal Hill is losing its most famous brunch spot.

Blue Moon Too is leaving the neighborhood after 11 years and relocating to Hampden, said owner Sarah Simington.

An offshoot of the original Blue Moon in Fells Point, the South Baltimore diner at 1024 Light St. will shut down in April 2027 and reopen the same month inside Hampden’s Meadow Mill, neighboring the restaurant La Cuchara.

Simington said she had originally planned for the Hampden location to become her third branch, but her landlord, a company called Key Tech, decided not to extend her lease on the Federal Hill space. “This interview was supposed to be my announcing of Blue Moon the third,” Simington said. ”It will now be a relocation of Blue Moon Too."

Key Tech, a medical device firm, purchased the building in 2019 and plans to convert it into additional office space for its 40 E. Cross St. headquarters, the Baltimore Business Journal reported in 2024. The company also owns the storefront next door to Blue Moon Too, formerly Himalayan Bistro.

But Simington was heartbroken to be leaving South Baltimore. “I’m devastated,” she said. “I feel like I’m letting Fed Hill down during its hard times.” The neighborhood has been facing problems with crime, she said, and “I know I’m a bright spot.”

But the new neighborhood of Hampden, Simington said, “kind of suits Blue Moon’s quirkiness.” The spot in Hampden will feature the same menu as Simington’s earlier location, including its “world famous” Cap’n Crunch French toast, cinnamon rolls and the Sweet Baby Jesus, a hash brown dish topped with eggs, crab meat, cheese and Old Bay.

Simington is hoping to get a liquor license for the Hampden restaurant. “I make a mean Bloody Mary,” she said. The branch will also feature something new for Blue Moon fans: a parking lot.

A California native, Simington moved to Baltimore at age 21, founding Blue Moon in Fells Point in 1996 together with her mom, who had run restaurants her whole career. “I grew up on a diner stool,” Simington said. Since then, Simington and her restaurant have appeared on multiple Food Network shows including “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “Guilty Pleasures.” She’s hoping to do more television appearances soon.

As she prepares to close her Federal Hill location, Simington has a final message for its customers: “We’re there for six more months,” she said of the branch, which Simington designed and decorated in her own brand of gothic-meets-rock and roll. “Come see this beautiful gem that I built.”