If you want a laugh, this Kansas City comedy club is reopening this weekend
With the COVID-19 pandemic creating hardships, Comedy Club of Kansas City owner Dustin Kaufman wants to provide something simple:
Some laughs.
Starting Friday, he’s doing just that, re-opening his business for a stand-up comedy routine by local comic Mike Baldwin.
“As somebody who was a comic for many years, it’s our duty to entertain people in a time of need,” Kaufman said Wednesday. “If we can be there for people, we’re going to be there for people.”
The key to re-opening, Kaufman said, is the club’s licensing, which categorizes them as a restaurant or bar. As KC mayor Quinton Lucas’ stay-at-home order begins to ease Friday, it allows businesses like The Comedy Club of Kansas City to open their doors to those searching for a laugh.
Restaurants and bars are allowed more than 10 people inside their establishment. However, they must adhere to other social distancing guidelines, such as tables being at least 10 feet apart and sanitizing tables after use.
Kaufman stresses he’s doing just that. His 3,500-square foot venue has a capacity of 371 people. Kaufman said he’s hoping to have roughly 40 people at Friday night’s show.
“I’m treating the re-opening like I’m opening for the first time for the second time,” Kaufman said. “I’m really taking what I learned, opening it the first time and trying to put that into re-opening. I’m not going to book out several weeks until I get through the first week.”
Instead of selling individual tickets, Kaufman is selling tables, which can seat up to four people. Other precautions include using single-use paper menus and all staffers wearing masks.
The challenge, Kaufman added, was eliminating people gathering while they waited to be allowed inside. They’re lengthening the time between the two shows Saturday night and asking patrons not to show up until a certain time.
“We have limited our numbers far below what the city is telling us we could have,” Kaufman said. “For our employees’ comfort. I believe for the customer’s comfort as well. I just imagine there’s going to be some form of social expectation even though it’s not written — just what’s going to be comfortable for people.”
A big part of why Kaufman said he wanted to open was because of the nature of stand-up comedy. He said they dabbled in live streaming, much like concert venues have. Kaufman said there were times where they had comics live streaming from their home or club to varying audiences.
But he said it’s just not the same for stand-up comedy.
“At the end of the day, stand-up comedy is a comic on stage, people in the audience,” Kaufman said. “It’s immediate gratification. I know Zoom allows people to laugh there. But at the end of the day, we held off to do it right.”
Kaufman said Friday will be the test date — which is also why he scheduled only one block. There will be two showings on Saturday, but that’s after his staff had a test run of sorts on Friday. While Kaufman said he has the next few weeks planned, he has yet to formally register it on his website.
“We definitely plan on moving forward,” Kaufman said. “I have weeks penciled in for the next few weeks. I’m just not going to put them on the calendar yet. It really sucks doing it this way, but it’s kind of what we have to do. In a normal world, we have a business card drawing and people plan for weeks in advance. I just don’t see how that’s feasible right now with how often they’re changing regulations and guidelines and everything else, it’s kind of hard to plan too far out.”