Set back off the main drag in Covina, Chatterbox looks like just another dive bar. But what makes this venue stand out from other watering holes is its Chatterbox Comedy Night every Sunday.

“The crowd here has been so supportive. The crowd is part of the show, without them it wouldn’t happen,” said Scott Luhrs, a Sherman Oaks resident who, with his friend Steve Hernandez of Hollywood, launched the evening of stand-up five years ago.

“We were so bad that nobody would book us so we started our own show,” Hernandez said. “The first year was monthly, the second year was twice a month and then it’s been weekly the past three.”

Today, Hernandez and Luhrs share hosting duties with Ellie McElvain and Johan Miranda and they also take turns in front of the mike each week. Usually six to eight comedians perform 10- to 15-minute sets each.

“We put up the younger comedians in the beginning of the show and the more seasoned people go up in the end so it has this comedy club feel where it builds to the headliner,” Luhrs said.

Chatterbox draws performers of all levels, from beginners to pros. Comedians from out of state will request a spot while they’re in town and others use the space as a way to test out new material. The stage has seen comedians who have been on television, such as on TBS’ “Conan,” NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” as well as those who have performed at top comedy spots, like the Comedy Store in Los Angeles and The Ice House in Pasadena. For example, both Kyle Kinane of Comedy Central and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” competitor Drew Lynch have done sets at the Chatterbox.

“You don’t get rooms like this in Hollywood. We get bigger name comedians; they’ll make the drive because the audience is so smart and they come to have a good time,” Hernandez said.

“They’re a great audience because they’re not L.A. people,” Luhrs adds. “They’re regular Americans so they don’t care about Hollywood stuff. When a comic comes here and tries to do a bit about going on auditions, they check out, they don’t care about that.”

Another plus for Chatterbox Comedy Night is there’s no cover charge and no drink minimum. Mixologist Travis Taylor is usually tending bar. He is noted for pouring handcrafted drinks and even makes the venue’s popular ginger beer.

Hernandez and Luhrs, who work part time as bartenders in between their comedy careers, also produce the podcast Respect the Danger of Knives with co-host Deborah Ettah Robinson, which posts a new interview with a comedian every Thursday.

They also host a comedy open mike night on Thursdays at Chatterbox. Anyone is welcome to sign up and perform a five-minute set. This also provides another avenue from which Hernandez and Luhrs can glean performers for the Sunday shows.

“They say the key is to do it forever. A lot of people say you don’t get anywhere until you’re 10 years into it,” Luhrs said of comedy. “You can catch a break early, some people do, but basically just keep your head down and stay at it and figure out how to stay financially afloat until it turns into something.”

“You work hard and you’re good to people who are around you and I think it pays off,” Hernandez said.