Alameda Comedy Club Will Not Renew Their Lease

In a city that never has a shortage of things to do , a night out at Alameda Comedy Club is a surefire good time. Whether on a date or friend outing, laughing in the dark while eating garlic fries and sipping crisp white wine is a fantastic way to spend an evening. Sadly, last week Alameda Comedy Club sent a message to their patrons stating they would not be renewing their lease.

“Thank you for supporting the Alameda Comedy Club for the past four years, but after much deliberation, we have decided not to renew our lease for the next five-year term,” read the statement.

Owners Lori Theis and Patrick Ford went on to explain that they signed the club’s lease just months before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Keeping the club open through that period was very expensive,” their message continued. “Our business received NO government assistance as we fell [through the cracks] as a startup. It was all on us.”

Since the pandemic, Theis and Ford have been unable to sell enough tickets to break even.

“As I noted in the announcement, we signed our lease just a few months before COVID hit and we were stuck in the midst of having already spent several hundred thousand dollars building out the club with a full new kitchen and bar,” Theis and Ford said in a statement to the Alameda Post . “We chose to keep driving forward. Supporting the club during the pandemic was very costly.”

The owners are starting to have discussions with interested parties about an acquisition or partnership.

“It may continue as a comedy club or a mixed-use entertainment venue, or it may be reconfigured for another use,” the owners said in their statement to the Post of the future of the space.

On September 19, the owners sent an email to their patrons titled “You asked, ‘How can we support you?’ Buy tickets to our remaining shows!”

In the email, Theis and Ford thanked their patrons for an outpouring of support following their announcement. “The best way to show your support is to buy tickets to our upcoming shows!” the email stated.

Shows are currently listed on the Alameda Comedy Club website through November. Until the owners know more about the future of the club, they will not be scheduling additional shows. Upcoming performers include April Macie this Friday and Saturday, September 27-28, Monique Marvez the second weekend of October, and, of course, there’s Drag Brunch every Sunday.

“It has been an absolute joy to bring our shows along with great food and cocktails to you these past few years,” Theis and Ford said in their initial statement. “It’s been challenging, and fun, and we’ve had a blast. It has been great getting to know all of you. We are grateful that we shared this experience with our amazing staff and with all of the wonderful, talented performers that have graced our stage.”

Kelsey Goeres is the Managing Editor of the Alameda Post . Contact her via kelsey@alamedapost.com . Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Kelsey-Goeres .

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