Cobb's Comedy Club

Comedy venue in San Francisco

37°48′10″N 122°24′51″W / 37.8029°N 122.4143°W / 37.8029; -122.4143OwnerLive NationTypeComedy clubCapacity400Opened1982 (1982)Websitewww.cobbscomedyclub.com

Cobb's Comedy Club is a stand-up comedy venue in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. It was founded in 1982, and has had many top comedians on its stage.^{[citation needed]}

History

Chestnut Street

"Femprov....worked with a construction manager to design the stage and transform the original Cobb's Pub in San Francisco from a local Marina bar to a very successful Comedy Club..."^[1]

"Terry Sand (a member of Femprov^[2]) finds (1981) and consults with Ron Kakiki (throughout the summer) to help transform his small neighborhood bar...."^[3]^[4]

Originally known as Cobb's Pub, it became Cobb's Comedy Club, operated by Ron Kakiki and John Cantu^[5] in 1982 at 2069 Chestnut Street in San Francisco's Marina District.^[6]

The Cannery

In 1987, it moved to the Cannery Shopping Center in the historic Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco neighborhood,^[5] where it thrived for over a decade with owners Tom and Carolyn Sawyer, who went on to run the venue for more than 25 years.

In March 2002 a five-alarm fire broke out at The Cannery.^[7] Damage from the fire and subsequent flooding closed Cobb's for a month before forcing the Sawyers into a lawsuit which eventually resulted in the club's eviction from the building.^[8]

Columbus Avenue

With the help of some prominent comedian friends, the Sawyers raised enough money to reopen Cobb's in November 2002 at 915 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood,^[9] in the club formerly known as "Dance Your Ass Off" (disco), later Wolfgang's (rock),^[10]^[11] where, as of August 2022, it remains.^[12]

Nearby clubs

Punch Line San Francisco is San Francisco's longest-running comedy club, and a sister club of Cobb's Comedy Club. The Punch Line was owned and operated by Bill Graham in 1978 next to the rock venue formerly known as the Old Waldorf.

Punch Line Sacramento, a comedy club in Sacramento, was opened and operated by Bill Graham Presents in 1991 as an expansion of the comedy club of the same name in San Francisco.

References

^ "Troupe Profile".
^
- https://jeannene.org/femprov.html
- https://jeannene.org/press.html
^ "Femprov • Improvisational Comedy • San Francisco: Timeline".
^ Nina, G.; Patterson, O. J. (14 February 2022). Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy: A Humorous History. Arcadia. ISBN 978-1-4396-7446-8.
^ ^a ^b Kaliss, Jeff (27 May 2005). "Cobb's owner a stand-up guy / Sawyer adds touch of politics". Sfgate.
^ Macrone, Michael (1984). "san francisco comedy". Key: This Week in San Francisco. michaelmacrone.com. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^ Knight, Heather (18 March 2002). "Fire guts warehouse being converted to hotel / 5-alarm blaze near Cannery / Historic warehouse damaged, no injuries". Sfgate.
^ Kaliss, Jeff (27 May 2005). "Cobb's owner a stand-up guy / Sawyer adds touch of politics". Sfgate.
^ "Cobb's Comedy Club celebrates 25 years in San Francisco". 3 September 2007.
^ "Wolfgang's, circa 1984 May 9". Cornell University Library Digital Collections. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^ "Wolfgang's, 901 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA". Jerry's Brokendown Palaces. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^ "The Stanford Daily 10 October 1975". stanforddailyarchive.com. 10 October 1975. Retrieved 27 October 2018.