By Calvin Jay Emerson

“The first-ever show here. Holy shit,” said comedian Duncan Trussell once he stepped into the limelight of Emerald City Comedy Club. “We should bless this place. This feels like holy ground right now.”

After a spring renovation, the former Comedy/Bar above Broadway has grown from a tiny space into a club its backers hope will fit with the neighborhood’s respected performance venues like Neumos and Chop Suey and even Julia’s down the street.

With double the seats as before, Emerald City Comedy Club is now big enought that it technically has nosebleeds, seats far enough away from the stage that they’re supplemented with two, flat-screen TVs which provide a better view.

In the hours before Trussell took the stage for the first show in the overhauled venue last week, the club’s employees were rushing around to complete the finishing touches. Owner Dane Hessendahl had rushed back home to pick up a package full of those little, electronic candles.

In his absence, one of Hessendahl’s business partners, Tacoma Comedy Club co-owner Bree Norwest, was leading the charge. She instructed an all-new team of waiters on best practices, and how to best navigate through the darkness of the showroom.

Alongside the addition of table service, Emerald City Comedy Club has revamped their food and drink menu with new appetizers like Buffalo Cauliflower and Mozzarella Sticks. They’ll be serving desserts for the first time, like a Molten Lava cake.

They’ve also introduced a collection of N/A cocktails and done the funniest thing — priced them accordingly.

“It wasn’t initially our intention to make them cheaper. That was just the nature of the ingredients,” said Norwest. “However, my husband prefers N/A drinks, so we did want a solid collection of options. If the price point encourages someone to try something other than water and soda, then I think that’s great.”

Once Hessendahl had arrived with the candles, allowing for the ambience to be set, it was time for the show. The opening act before Trussell was comedian Chandler Hatch, a performer with northwestern roots. A Tacoma native and Lincoln High School graduate, he’s a regular performer at neighborhood venues around Greater Seattle. He badly wants to go axe throwing at “Blade and Timber”, and he’s been caked in the face by Buoy himself.

Creating space for local talent like Hatch will remain a priority for Emerald City Comedy Club, even as they seek to book bigger names. According to Norwest, there are plans to bring back the club’s weekly open mic nights, once they’ve settled into a reliable schedule with A-list talent. In the meantime, they’ll continue to refine the club experience, such as blacking out windows in the showroom and installing A/C in backstage areas.

“Honestly, tonight we’re about 90%… 95% of the way there,” said Norwest before opening night. “But you’ve still got to open up when you can. We’ll keep making improvements until it all feels right.”

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.

In the coming months, Emerald City Comedy Club will host bigger-name comedians like Saturday Night Live alums Kevin Nealon and Tim Meadows, alongside performers like prank call radio host Jubal Fresh and retired pro wrestler Mick Foley.

Emerald City Comedy Club is located at 210 Broadway E. Learn more at emeraldcitycomedy.com.

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