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The iconic Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, popularly known as Bed-Stuy, in Brooklyn, New York, is home to Selune, a new natural wine bar with a menu flaunting a French accent (think oysters, light bites) and a vibe that celebrates Ethiopian hospitality.
Selune is the mastermind of business partners Marc Lioussane, a Parisian hospitality veteran, and fashion stylist Bilen Gaga. “I’m of Ethiopian background, and one of the things that was really important to me, and important to Mark as well, was to create a space that is about communal eating, because that’s a significant part of my culture,” shares Selune co-owner Gaga.
“Ethiopian food is shared…So the food offerings we have of shareable plates, comes from the idea of something that people share together.”
The concept of opening a natural wine bar spotlighting oysters on the menu originated when Gaga met Lioussane at a natural wine bar he previously own during one of her trips for Paris Fashion Week.
“That was my first introduction to natural wines, actually, at the bar that Mark owned,” she relays. “The concept for the bar came from both of our love and appreciation for wine and oysters. He kept telling me, ‘Oh, French oysters are one of the best things you’ll ever have.’ I ended up having some of the best oysters of my entire life.”
Bed-Stuy’s New Hotspot
With over two decades of experience in hospitality, as well as owning and operating several successful bars in Paris, Lioussane approached Gaga about opening a natural wine and oyster bar in New York City together. The idea brewed for about three years until Lioussane came to America.
“When he moved to the United States and started spending a little bit more time in Bed-Stuy, he fell in love with the neighborhood,” shares Gaga about the historically Black community in Brooklyn that’s been her home for the past 20 years. As luck would have it, space in a 100-year-old landmark building became available in the neighborhood. Selune found a home and opened earlier this year.
As for their establishment’s name, Gaga says the duo struggled with it a bit. “I was very insistent that it was a French word that was pronounceable. Mark was very insistent that it was something that had a story behind it,” she says.
So, the business partners made up a word. Gaga explains. “What we did is combine the French words ‘sel,’ which is the word for salt, and the word ‘lune’ which means moon…Selune means salt moon. It invokes salt for the oysters and when you’re thinking of drinking wine, you’re thinking evening and the moon. So we liked the image when you say ‘salt and moon,’which I think invokes what we offer: wine and oysters.”
Natural Wine Takes the Spotlight
The wines, in Selune’s well-edited collection, are natural wines. “Basically, the label of natural wine [means] that it’s got no added chemicals, no added sulfites, which is one of the most important aspects of it. Sulfites are the reason why a lot of us get hungover from drinking wine,” explains Gaga.
“Natural wines are harkening back to how wine is made—which is you take the grape, you smash it, and you let it do its thing. So when a bottle, or a vineyard, gets the label that it’s making natural wines, it means that they have done it with as little manipulation as possible. One of the main ways that you can tell the difference between a natural wine and a non-natural wine is that a natural wine will taste a lot more earthy, a lot funkier. Some people really like that…I personally love it because it feels like you’re tasting the essence of what the grape is supposed to taste like.”
Sourcing from small-batch vineyards Selune pours reds, whites and sparkling wines mainly from Europe as well as some from California and Washington state. Craft cocktail selections round out the drink selections. “We also wanted to have a few offerings of Japanese sake because it’s of the same mentality as natural wines; it’s made as with as little manipulation as possible,” adds the natural wine bar co-owner.
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A Perfect Pairing
The earthy quality of natural wines pairs beautifully with the terroir-driven taste of fresh oysters (sourced mainly from local East Coast suppliers) that are the heart of the Selune dining experience.
“We have Happy Hour Dollar Oysters from 5-7 pm on Monday through Friday,” notes Gaga. “Dollar oysters are a dying tradition, but we were very adamant about having that offering because we wanted people to be able to come in and have amazing oysters and amazing wines and cocktails.”
The oysters join a menu created by co-owner Lioussane, which features rotating French-inspired light bites like truffle croque monsieur, duck foie gras mi cuit, a selection of artisanal cheeses and more.
“Accessibility is something that has been a very important part of our ethos and that is reflected in the prices that we have on our menu,” details Gaga about the core mission of the establishment in keeping prices and menu offerings available for all. “The sound of wine and oysters already has a tendency to sound a little too too ‘high nosed.’ And so we were very, very intentional about making the space as welcoming and as open as possible.”
Selune’s causal-chic dining vibe located at 478 Halsey Street is where Gaga’s influence and Ethiopian heritage shine in making the experience of wine and oysters accessible and unpretentious. “The artwork on the wall are all Ethiopian artwork I source,” she notes about the space, which offers dining as well as a bar seating.
“Traditional Ethiopian artwork tends to lean heavy into religious symbolism. But I wanted the art you see on the walls to highlight communal eating or making food together.”
Likewise, the emphasis on a shareable plates menu helps encourage the communal dining that builds community, says Gaga. “What’s important to me is to have a space where people feel at home [and] feel like this space is a representation of the neighborhood itself…a place where [diners] walk in and see the most beautiful array of diverse faces enjoying the ambiance and the food that we have to offer—harkening back to my Ethiopian background of having a communal environment.”
Amid natural wines, oysters and other tasty offerings, Selune is doing just that in Bed-Stuy…one plate at a time.
