Hesseldahl confronting the old walls before the club’s opening in 2023

By Calvin Jay Emerson

Some jokes go over better than others. Broadway’s Comedy/Bar is gone. With the Emerald City Comedy Club, a new start is underway.

If you ever walk north from Capitol Hill Station, you’ll likely pass under an unlit neon arrow. Wrapped around it is a swirling black ribbon, labelled “High Line”, indicating its former purpose. Given that the dive bar of the same name closed five years ago, it now only serves as a reminder of the changes at 210 Broadway E.

Its most recent identity was as Comedy/Bar, a comedy venue that, despite attracting national controversy, has maintained a friendly following. They’ve provided a space to go for a reliable laugh and discover new comedy talent.

However, owner Dane Hesseldahl knew that the club hadn’t reached its full potential.

CHS reported here in 2023 as Comedy/Bar took shape in the space formerly home to punk vegan bar the Highline under Hesseldahl, part of a long-running stand-up comedy presence at Broadway’s now-shuttered Jai Thai.

Comedy/Bar had an intimate, dive bar feel not fully by choice, but because they had to share their space with other tenants on the same floor. This meant the club had a ceiling for the talent it could attract, unable to support the crowds brought in by big-time comedians, as well as more practical concerns.

“I was always embarrassed by our restrooms,” Hesseldahl said, “but back then, they were not ours to change.”

As the club took an opportunity last year to buy up all of 210 Broadway’s upper floor, the grody sinks and toilets were the first to go.

With no more floormates to worry about, Comedy/Bar is currently being transformed into the Emerald City Comedy Club, and guests can expect a variety of changes to their experience when they re-open.

The weird cobblestoned walls of the club’s showroom have been kicked down, opening up into a more expansive performance space. The number of seats have doubled, from 120 to 250. The speaker system is being re-done as well, so even if you are far from the stage, you will be able to hear the show from every spot in the house.

They are also classing up the joint with the addition of table service.

The club plans to dramatically staff up to meet the needs of their customers. This includes a team of servers who will bring you your ordered drink, directly to your spot in the showroom.

“We know that it’s expensive to add more staff right now, but for us, we also know it’ll make for a better guest experience,” Hesseldahl said.

Hesseldahl said in the past, guests had to walk out of the showroom if they wanted a second drink. “We don’t want 300 or so people consistently getting up to go to the bar throughout a performance. It doesn’t make for the best show possible.”

With the new investments, Emerald City is set to continue its part in growing the Capitol Hill scene along with Club Comedy which established itself on Capitol Hill in 2022 on 15th Ave E.

Hesseldahl is hopeful that his club’s restart and facelift will not only bring in big, A-list comedic talent for local Seattleites to enjoy, but will also bring more activity to Broadway.

“I think it’s going to be really good for the neighborhood,” he said. “We’ll be going from one show to two shows, 200 a piece. If we do Thursday, Friday, Saturday, that’s thousands of people coming into Capitol Hill. I love our neighbors, our block, Broadway, and I hope our success really helps to bring the nightlife back.”

Emerald City Comedy Club will officially reopen at 210 Broadway E on April 24th with a set from stand-up comic Duncan Trussell and will host comedians Trae Crowder, Nicole Byer, and Jay Pharoah in the coming months. Learn more at emeraldcitycomedy.com.

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