Punch Line Comedy Club to close in August as bookers seek a new home for venue

The Punch Line The Punch Line Photo: Yelp / The Punch Line Photo: Yelp / The Punch Line Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Punch Line Comedy Club to close in August as bookers seek a new home for venue 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

More than 40 years after the Punch Line Comedy Club opened on Battery Street in downtown San Francisco, the venue will shutter at that location at the end of the summer, Live Nation confirms.

Live Nation told SFGate that the company is seeking a new home for the club after the business was unable to come to an agreement on its lease with the property owners. Staffers at the club were informed of the August closure this week.

In the meantime, Live Nation is searching for a new club space to open "ASAP," a venue spokesperson told SFGate. (Live Nation also operates Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.)

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"We're currently in search of a new home to preserve our decades-long tradition of entertaining comedy fans in San Francisco and the Bay Area," said Punch Line talent buyer Molly Schminke in a statement. "It's a sad moment for us, but we're excited at the future's potential. ... Our best days are yet to come."

Joey Avery, a comic who performed at the Punch Line just last Sunday and considers the venue his home club, was "shocked" to hear about its imminent closure.

Most working comics in and around San Francisco make a point to gather on Sundays at the Punch Line, which he calls the "heart of the local comedy scene." It takes a lot of effort and face time for newer comics to score a set there, but those who do can find consistent work. Losing the Punch Line, Avery said, is "the worst-case scenario."

"In some ways, it's knowing the direction this city is going and knowing how money is eating up the things many people hold dear," he continued. "To some degree, it feels like it's only a matter of time before it comes to your place."

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The Punch Line was founded in 1978 by Jeffrey Pollack and Jonathan and Anne Fox, initially as a dressing room for the Old Waldorf, a rock club next door. Bill Graham purchased both spaces several years later. The intimate room grew to make a name for itself in subsequent years, hosting iconic comedians including Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock, Drew Carey, Chelsea Handler and Dana Carvey.

The club is also a known favorite of Dave Chappelle, who often appears onstage for long, impromptu sets while he works through new material.

Avery, who has been lucky enough to catch some of Chappelle's sets from backstage, said the star comic's frequent presence at the club confirms its "prestige status" for established acts across the world. For newer comedians, the venue has become an aspirational lodestar — a career marker of a certain level of success.

Avery is glad the venue is intent on returning in some form soon, but said he's sorry to see the loss of the club's decades-long legacy.

"When you have an art venue that's been around for so long that has a lot of history (and you move it), you're going to lose some of the magic," he said. "I have great respect for the people who run the venue. Losing a space that has so much history is still a blow to SF."

Plus, Avery is really going to miss his weekly ritual.

"Hopefully they can get something going again," he said, "so we can have those Sundays back."

Edit: This article originally stated that Bill Graham founded the Punch Line. It has been corrected.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

