A Literary Tribute to Papermoon Diner

Baltimore is a city of art, history, and hidden gems. One of these gems, which I believe to be a Baltimore landmark, is the Papermoon Diner.

Papermoon Diner is my favorite place to dine in Baltimore, not only because of the food but also the atmosphere. The restaurant is an iSpy attack, but hot wheels on the ceiling and too may pez dispensers to count.

As a tribute to the diner, in Fall of 2024 I created two creative works about Papermoon: a literary film and character sketch.

To the Woman Who Lost Me: A Literary Film

Watch the literary film, "To the Woman Who Lost Me"

This project is a series of postcards written in the voice of Baby, a baby head used as decoration in the diner.

Ironically, every time I go to Papermoon Diner, I am sat at the table next to Baby. We've spent a lot of time together as I eat my go-to meal, the Monte Cristo sandwich with the Landslide plate, while she watches me eat. So when I chose to write a literary tribute to my favorite diner in Baltimore, I knew Baby had to be the protagonist.

I explored her story, imagining her memories and what life she had before. From my research, I knew she was an antique either from the artist's home, estate/yard sale, or thrift store. That told me she had history.

The idea of the postcard storytelling came from a writing textbook (sorry, I forgot which one), where it discussed how publishing a story could be writing on a postcard and mailing it to your audience. That notion was inspiring but unfortuantely mailing postcards was not practical for the purposes of this project. Henceforth, I made a postcards into a literary film.

An Interview with Papermoon Diner: A Character Sketch

To explore the diner itself as a character, I imagined it as a person and conducted an interview them.

Interviewer: Hello Papermoon. Thank you for sitting down with me today and agreeing to this interview. Our readers are eager to learn about your life and future. Shall we get started?

Papermoon: Certainly

Interviewer: Excellent. I must say, your menu is very interesting—

Papermoon: Yes. There’s a code on the front. An eye. Then U. Then a moon. It means “See You at Papermoon.”

Interviewer: Oh, no. chuckle I meant the food.

Papermoon: Oh…right. We have something for everyone, whether you’re out to brunch with your family or have the case of the munchies.

Interviewer: The munchies? Are you saying diners get high?

Papermoon: No. They come high and we accommodate them.

Interviewer: Haha, that’s funny. An all-inclusive dinner.

Papermoon: Our appetizer menu is literally called “Munchies.” We know what our diners need.

Interviewer: Excellent. Well, I’d like to ask how you got your name. Papermoon is intriguing to say the least.

Papermoon: Yes, the name is unique. Actually, I’ve had many names. First, I was Tuttle House, a simple restaurant. Then, I became Open House. I was a 24-hour burger joint that drew in an interesting crowd. But in 1994, I was reborn into Papermoon diner—and I have been Papermoon ever since. There are a few people to thank for my name. The first is Un Kim, my owner. When she purchased my building, she had vision to create a space for friends and family to dine together in a fun and exciting place. The next people to thank for my name are Joe David Brown and Peter Bogdanovich. Joe was the novelist of Addie Pray and Peter was the director of the book’s movie Paper Moon. Paper Moon, a comedy-drama film from 1973, is Kim’s favorite movie. She named me after what she loved, but there were some legal questions. She didn’t want to get sued or have any copyright implications, so she tweaked my name to make it unique. I am Papermoon—one word.

Interviewer: That’s some amazing history you have there. Since you are named after a film, do you feel any connection to Paper Moon’s story?

Papermoon: The film is about a con man trying to steal a little’s girl money. Now, I don’t have any connection to that. But I do have a connection to a father-daughter story where a family journeys together and goes on adventures. I like to think I am an adventure for fathers, daughters, sons, mothers, sisters, and brothers to come and enjoy.

Interviewer: I would agree with that. The diner is an adventure with all the trinkets throughout the walls and ceilings. Speaking of those, is there any toy that you are particularly fond of?

Papermoon: Actually, they are not toys. David Briskie—the artist who made me what I am today—likes to call them old things. He’s really adamant about that. The “old things” have really come from all over so it’s hard to pick a favorite. Briskie owned a few and so did Kim. They were collectors, I think. But the rest came from yard sales, flea markets, antique shops, and thrift stores. When first designing me, Briskie took an idea and ran with it. He studied at MICA, where he met Kim, and their friendship turned into an art partnership. I am the embodiment of their relationship. Now, as for my favorite. If I had to choose, I would say the mannequins. There are so many of them, both outside and inside. They all have their own, unique personalities and are really the essence of the diner.

Interviewer: The mannequins stand out for me too. I personally like the green one with hair made from tiny army men.

Papermoon: I enjoy that one too. She’s very fierce, kind of like a protector for the diner.

Interviewer: Do you ever feel in need of a protector?

Papermoon: Sometimes, yes. I am a target for theft, unfortunately.

Interviewer: Do things ever become dangerous?

Papermoon: No. Never. I suspect the local college kids and fraternities use me as a hazing ritual. They take mannequins mostly, but one time they stole all the toilets.

Interviewer: Toilets?

Papermoon: It was the strangest thing. Just all of my toilets were gone.

Interviewer: Did you get them back?

Papermoon: They were replaced. We moved on. What’s important is that the food and family experience was not disrupted.

Interviewer: That’s great to hear. Circling back to the mannequins and what you said about each one having their own personality, I wonder where the ideas came from to dress them that way?

Papermoon: Oh, yes. Actually, when I first became Papermoon all of the mannequins were naked. It caused quite a stir in the community. People complained and some said they were uncomfortable eating in a place with nudity. I don’t think it’s nudity. It’s a mannequin. But to please the complainers, Briskie covered the mannequins with all the “old things.” That’s why the green one at the entrance has army men hair. The mannequin decorations were random at first, but the art grew from there. What was once a simple, random thing to stop complaints turned into my quirk. It is what makes me memorable.

Interviewer: You and your mannequins definitely are memorable. I just have one last question for you. You have been Papermoon for thirty years. Where do you see yourself in the next thirty years?

Papermoon: Doing the same thing I’m doing now. Rowdy kids who got kicked out of the diner are now bringing their kids to the diner for some nice family time. Generations come and go with fond memories in the diner. And in thirty years, more generations will come and more memories will be created. As for the art and “old things,” I will have more artful old things in the next thirty years. But I will also have the art I have now. I will grow and shift, but parts of me will be the same.

Interviewer: That’s great to hear. I am excited to see how you and your art will grow throughout the years. Thank you again for letting me interview you.

Papermoon: You’re welcome. Happy to do it.

Interviewer: I will be stopping by for a visit soon. I love the Monte Carlo sandwich.

Papermoon: It’s a favorite of mine too. But next time make sure you try the Avocado Shake. It’s surprisingly delicious.

Interviewer: I’ll make sure to try it next time. It was a pleasure spending time with you today Papermoon Diner.