- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
St. Petersburg’s burgeoning stand-up comedy scene will soon have an intimate, community-focused new addition from a veteran comic and club owner.
Kenny Garcia, currently caught in “permitting purgatory,” now hopes to open Sunshine Comedy Cafe at 443 1st Ave. N., on the ground floor of the Princess Martha building downtown, in September. He also operates Sunshine City Comedy Club on St. Pete Beach and the Clearwater Comedy Club.
Garcia, who spent 16 years touring as a stand-up comedian, believes St. Petersburg can become a nationwide destination for comics. He is also prioritizing accessibility to attract new and current fans.
“When I first opened the place on the beach, I was pretty confident I would be able to get people from downtown to come out, because there were no comedy clubs in the area,” Garcia said. “After three years of trying everything I could to get people from downtown to consistently come out, it seemed like I might as well just bring something to them.”
Garcia is transforming a 996-square-foot space that formerly housed a real estate office into Sunshine Comedy Cafe. The venue, adjacent to Bar Chinchilla, will seat between 35 and 45 people.
“I found a really great space, something that I feel like I can turn into something very cool,” Garcia said. “I’m pretty fortunate to be in the downtown area and have a pretty low overhead.”
He plans to pass those savings on to patrons. Tickets for weekly shows, which will include local showcases, range from $5 to $18.
Ticket prices will remain “very competitive” for weekend headliners, Garcia said. Unlike some larger venues, Sunshine Comedy Cafe will not implement drink minimums.
“I would describe it as like a boutique, speakeasy vibe,” Garcia said. “We’re going for a jazzy, comedy club-type vibe.”
Sunshine Comedy Cafe will serve beer, wine, coffee, and liquor. There are no plans for a food program.
While the venue’s size will prevent it from attracting nationally prominent acts, Garcia pledged to “bring in people who would open for those A-listers, and they’re just as funny. They just don’t have the following yet.”
Sunshine Comedy Cafe will provide comics with a platform to hone their craft. Patrons will receive a “top-notch experience” and the opportunity to discover new performers, Garcia said.
He initially planned to open the club this month before encountering permitting delays. The build-out is nearly complete; Garcia said ensuring a bathroom meets ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements is the final step.
“We want to be open in September,” he continued. “We want to be open seven days a week, and we want to hit the ground running. We’ll do a grand opening, and then we’ll fall right into our schedule. It will be very similar to the shows that we’re doing at our other two locations.”
Garcia was a professional stand-up comedian who traveled “pretty much every weekend” for 16 years. He “got a little burnt out” and moved from New York City to St. Petersburg in 2020.
The opportunity to open a club on St. Pete Beach arose, and Garcia has enjoyed “building a community and cultivating a scene here” ever since. While once relegated to sporadic pop-up shows, St. Petersburg is now becoming a hotbed for comedy clubs.
Tampa-based Side Splitters is expanding to The Sundial complex near St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront, and St. Pete Stand-Up has announced plans to open a permanent club in the city’s Grand Central District.
“I would love to be the only game in town, but I also think that we have three different models,” Garcia said. “If we’re all cooking at the same time, I think it’s very, very good for the scene, and I think there’s enough room for all of us to do well.”
He called St. Petersburg a “fantastic place to live,” and would love to see comedians nationwide move to the city. Boasting three viable clubs would help achieve that goal, and Garcia hopes that “I can help be a part of that.”
Garcia is considering offering a daily coffee service for a cause at the Sunshine Comedy Cafe. Each $2 cup would help provide free coffee to local homeless residents.
While his focus is on opening the venue in September, and logistical questions remain, Garcia said the initiative is “very much at the forefront of what we would like to do.”
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