Comedy Plex Comedy Club officially opens at 8 p.m. Friday with headliner Warren B. Hall.
The club and training center in downtown Oak Park is on the lower level of its building, giving the space an atmospheric speakeasy vibe, co-founder Christopher Bell said.
“We have a lot of funny friends,” said co-founder Sherman Edwards. “We want to showcase them. But you’ll be seeing us on stage as well.”
Tickets are $25 for the show, with a two-drink minimum for either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. Attendees must be 21 or older, or accompanied by a legal guardian. Parking is available at local garages, including Holley Court Garage nearby.
Bell and Edwards, along with co-founders Paul Cary and Marz Timms have been working to open the club for several years. The Oak Park Zoning Board of Appeals granted the club a special use permit in April.
The project is fully funded by the co-founders who live in Oak Park, and each has backgrounds in comedy. The space can accommodate roughly 200 patrons, Edwards said.
The club will double as a training center for anyone interested in learning comedy. Lessons will be taught by comedians, including the co-founders, and priced at $250 for an eight-week course that meets once a week, Edwards said.
The classes, Bell hopes, may also inspire the pupils to attend shows.
Open mic nights are expected to take place Wednesday nights for about an hour and a half, Edwards said. On Thursdays, the club will have Top Shelf Comedy events to showcase both local and non-local performers. Fridays and Saturdays will feature headliners. On Sundays, the club founders hope to partner with local nonprofits to donate ticket proceeds to their causes, Bell said.
“It would’ve been hard for us to even go forward with this if we didn’t feel like we could help create some kind of symbiotic relationship with the area,” Edwards said.
They would like to have all-ages shows for a younger Oak Park audience, Edwards said, with age-appropriate comedians. They are also considering having acoustic musicians perform.
The co-founders came up with the idea for the club during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bell said. They wanted to rely on touring less, he said, and the virtual stage wasn’t quite as enticing.
The founders were looking for a space in the high-traffic area on Lake Street, and Edwards said they fell in love with the low ceilings and potential of the space they chose. After fixing up the ceilings, plumbing, air conditioning unit and other items, they were ready to open. Despite the realtor’s concern about the space, the men were ecstatic with the possibilities.
“In New York are the best comedy clubs,” Bell said. “They’re in basements and they have low ceilings and they’ve got character.”
The site is near parking venues, the Chicago Transit Authority Green Line and bus stops, which Bell said was important to them. They have also applied, but not yet been approved, for the option to validate parking for club attendees, Bell said.
Edwards said he believes the club will help revitalize the downtown Oak Park area and nightlife. Snacks and drinks will generally be available at Comedy Plex, but food will not be cooked in-house.
“An ideal day for an Oak Park resident, for us, would be they come to downtown, they do some shopping, they go to a restaurant and then they come and spend their evening with us at Comedy Plex,” Edwards said.
Oak Parkers have a desire for culture and community, Edwards said, but don’t necessarily want to travel to find it. Chicago is a comedy hub with many talented performers and teachers, he added, saying that he’d like to bring that experience to Oak Park. The founders also plan to partner with local businesses, such as Kribi Coffee for open mic nights.
“It felt like there was a bit of an entertainment desert in this area,” he said. “It felt like this area could use this.”
Comedy Plex Comedy Club is located at 1128 Lake St.