By Eric Allen, News staff

The Milky Way, to any scientist, is a veritable party of stars and home to some very distinct celestial bodies. To a resident or fan of Jamaica Plain, the Milky Way is a place for a party with some bright lights and dancing Bostonians.
The Milky Way Lounge and Lanes, a popular dancing/bowling/drinking hangout in JP, and Bella Luna, its proximal restaurant, are moving from their Hyde Square location to The Brewery at 284 Armory St. Bella Luna has been open since 1993, said co-owner and manager Carol Downs, and Lounge and Lanes opened in ’99. The lease was up this year, and the rent price was too high for Downs to continue leasing the same space, she said. On Sunday, the JP favorite held a parade that led from the old location to the new one, attracting hundreds of people.
‘It was inspiring to have so many people come out for our parade,’ Downs said. ‘They wanted to celebrate what Milky Way has been in the community.’
Ryan Sciaino, aka DJ Ghostdad and organizer of Thursday night events at Milky Way, said he remembers how the lounge and restaurant changed the face of Jamaica Plain. A 15-year veteran of the Hyde Square neighborhood, Bella Luna took an area that was at the very least a little rough around the edges, and pioneered the gentrification of the area, he said.
‘It’s a community refuge,’ he said. ‘I loved the dance floor, and the lounge area in the back.’
The parade Sunday attracted crowds of Milky Way fans and Mayor Thomas Menino, too, who has pushed for the neighborhood hangout to remain in its original location.
‘It is unfortunate that … the owners of the Bella Luna and the Milky Way were faced with an 84 percent rent increase especially in such tough economic times,’ Menino said in an e-mail to The News. ‘Fortunately, Bella Luna has found a new home at the Brewery complex on Armory Street and I couldn’t be more glad they have been able to stay a Jamaica Plain institution.’
About a year ago, Menino wrote a letter to Mordechai Levin, the owner of the building that housed Milky Way, urging him to reconsider raising the rent by such a high percentage, which Menino described in the letter as ‘not only exorbitant but purposefully disparaging.’ In his letter, he also noted that Milky Way and Bella Luna had paid for an $80,000 sprinkler system, for which they would not be reimbursed, nor would it have any effect on the price of rent, which ultimately forced the lounge and restaurant to leave.
Menino wasn’t the only one sad to see Milky Way go. Dany Schaffer, a senior anthropology major, said he is upset about the move.
‘It was one of my favorite places,’ he said. ‘It’s the only place I liked going to hang out at. I could go there and dance and talk to friends and listen to music. It’s certainly not going to be the same in the new space.’
Sciaino said he doesn’t hope much will change in the new location. He said the spot at The Brewery should be more free-flowing, but will not have bowling lanes, like the old hangout used to. It will, however, have an outdoor patio for Bella Luna patrons to dine on, and everything will be on one floor, rather than the previous two.
‘I’d like to hopefully pick up the same momentum we had at the old space,’ he said. ‘And I’m looking forward to starting anew.’
Among the memories Sciaino had of Milky Way, he counts among his favorites the time the venue cheekily advertised a performance by ‘Dafte’ Punk. The sound-alike French house duo didn’t perform, of course, but the stage was designed to imitate the aesthetic of Daft Punk’s 2007 Alive tour. From that night, Sciaino remembers a set built from milk crates, shower curtains and string lights and a performance by rapper Spank Rock.
Downs said one of her favorite memories at the lounge was of a couple who were the lead plaintiffs in the case to legalize gay and lesbian marriage in Massachusetts. After their ceremony at city hall, they held their reception at Milky Way.
‘It felt like we were a part of history,’ she said. ‘It was a proud moment for us.’
Downs said the new location will be open in a few weeks.
‘It was a place where people could gather for all sorts of reasons:’ to celebrate birthdays, hear from politicians, to get married, to hear music, to dance,’ she said. ‘I view it as we’re not closing Milky Way, we’re just relocating Milky Way.’