Keith writes in with this photo…

What is filming at Thumb’s Up?

The answer, it seems, is on the Decatur Minute website!

A motion picture project titled “Kill the Messenger” will be filming in and in front of Thumbs Up Diner located at 174 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Trucks will be parked along a portion of Ponce de Leon, a portion of Commerce in front of Taco Mac, and a few spaces on Swanton Way.

Decatur Police will be present during the filming to ensure traffic and pedestrian safety. Some trucks will start loading into place this evening.

The movie stars Jeremy Renner, Barry Pepper and Rosemarie DeWitt, according to IMDB.

Decaturite and AJC food critic John Kessler writes the sordid and complex history of Thumbs Up and Crescent Moon…and Thumbs Up restaurant over in Access Atlanta this morning.

Not that you need reminding, but when Crescent Moon blew up last year, DM inadvertantly became a clearinghouse of info and debate, thanks to frequent postings by wait staff like Looney Mooney and MyFavoriteWaitress, who eventually went on strike.  Hope they are much happier today!

As mentioned by HKS and YourFavoriteWaitress in a previous post, Thumbs Up Diner will open in the old Crescent Moon space this coming Tuesday, December 23rd for breakfast and lunch.

Cash only according to YourFavoriteWaitress.

MisAngela provides us with an update…

Thumbs Up will be open in 2-3 wks. The interior demo/refurb is done, they just have to get everything cleaned up and all the furniture back in place. The neon is still there (boo!) but the tile is painted and the mirrors are gone. And they have some cute new light fixtures.

The owners are very nice and totally cool.

As for menu, it’ll be the usual Thumbs Up menu. Sorry, no Crescent Moon recipes. The heap dish is served – that was Thumbs Up’s dish in the first place. And there are other similarities, so don’t despair!

The paper is down from the windows, so stop by and take a peek. The new owners are excited to be in Decatur and look forward to serving you some yummy breakfast grub this month.

The elements are all falling together nicely for the opening, so it totally does look like it’ll be December.

Here it is.

Frequent DM readers will find both old and new info.  Probably most important, Rob says they should reopen as Thumbs Up in two to three weeks.

YourFavoriteWaitress is good enough to give us a detailed report on the future of Crescent Moon…

OK, Folks, Here’s the official update on the Crescent Moon saga:

The bad guys are gone and the good guys are back!!!

I just came from a meeting with Rob Atherholt, and the creme de la creme of the Crescent Moon crew. We met some new friends at this meeting, and we all came away feeling excited about the future of our little diner in Decatur.

The name Crescent Moon is tied up in legal red tape and could remain that way for some time.
Meanwhile, The Thumbs Up in Avondale had to close awhile back because of the city’s expansion or somesuch…anyway,

It’s a perfect alignment of time and circumstance for Rob Atherholt of Crescent Moon And Lou Locricchio of Thumb’s Up to join forces with another successful restaurant entrepreneur, Lisa Durham, and together with management partners Susan Wright and Wesley McConnell, and the Crescent Moon crew that you have known and loved for years, bring Thumb’s Up back to Decatur!! That’s right it’s official.

THUMB’S UP COMES TO CRESCENT MOON!!!
I wanted to post this here, because the support from this site has been strong and appreciated, and I know that everyone has been wondering what’s going on.
We all loved The Crescent Moon, and it being gone carries a sad note. I also know that Thumb’s Up is a great restaurant and it carries not only a similar menu, but the same high quality standards that we maintained at The Moon before Global took over ownership.
It’s the best of both worlds. We still have Rob, AND we now have Lou and Lisa and Wesley and Susan as well.

So watch the blog and keep an eye open for word of our grand re-opening. (Probably mid to end of November.) Then come on over and see some familiar faces and meet some new friends and chow down on some good food!!
It’ll be great to see your faces again.
Maggie

a pleasant post-script:
The shower tiles and mirrors on the walls (and the neon) are going to be removed and Lou’s wife Elizabeth is in the process of giving the dining room a much-needed face lift. YIPPEE!!

In case you’re unfamiliar with Thumbs Up and its selection, here’s their website.

UPDATE: Steve…Carl sees your tip off and raises you a pic of the sign.   From the wording it sounds like they’ll be reopening under the same name.

Steve writes in that the previous report about Crescent Moon closing and becoming a Thumbs Up Diner may in fact be true.

“Apparently the rumor is in fact true. There are signs on the window today stating that Crescent Moon is closed, but will reopen after some remodeling with Rob in charge. (Carl, I can’t believe you didn’t scoop this)”

This new piece of evidence certainly seems to jive with the old rumor, but doesn’t yet confirm it will be a Thumbs Up.