Cobb's Comedy Club Explained

Cobb's Comedy Club
Location:San Francisco, California
Coordinates:37.8029°N -122.4143°W
Owner:Live Nation
Address:915 Columbus Avenue
Type:Comedy club
Former Names:Cobb's Pub
Seating Capacity:400

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.

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 in 1982 at 2069 Chestnut Street in San Francisco's Marina District.[5]

The Cannery

In 1987, it moved to the Cannery Shopping Center in the historic Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco neighborhood,[6] 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.

External links

Notes and References

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