photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The former Mr. Brews Taphouse location at 811 New Hampshire Street is picture on Oct. 2, 2025.

Nationally-known comedians already make Kansas City a frequent stop on their tours. Dustin Kaufman is betting that he soon can get many of those comedians to make the short trip to downtown Lawrence, too.

I reported last week there were signs a comedy club was set to open in a former restaurant space along New Hampshire Street. Now we know that is indeed the case, and that a top Kansas City comedy promoter is behind the venture.

Kaufman, owner of The Comedy Club of Kansas City, confirmed he has reached a deal to open The Comedy Club of Lawrence in the downtown spot at 811 New Hampshire Street that formerly was home to Mr. Brews Taphouse.

“They can expect funny, quality, nationally-touring headliners on a weekly basis,” Kaufman said of the expectations for the Lawrence venture. “It will be the funniest people we can find every week.”

The Lawrence club will have seating for about 150 people, which is about 100 seats fewer than Kaufman’s Kansas City club at 103rd Street and State Line. That means the Lawrence club may not be big enough to attract some of the country’s very top comedy acts. but Kaufman also promises the club won’t just be for open mic nights and emerging talent that hasn’t yet developed a following.

Instead, many will be comics you have seen on a screen one way or another.

“Our comics are from America’s Got Talent, Netflix, Comedy Central,” Kaufman said. “They’ve had Tonight Show specials, and a lot of viral comedians that your younger, smarter comedy fans will know well.”

The club already has booked longtime comedian and actor Bobcat Goldthwait for four shows in March. In December the club will have Emma Willmann, a multiple-time guest on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, followed by Gabriel Rutledge, a Comedy Central performer.

The club plans to open on Nov. 1 with a soft opening and then will begin a full slate of shows Nov. 6 with Comedy Central and Conan performer JC Currais headlining five shows over a three-day period.

The club normally will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with headliners often performing both 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. shows, according to the club’s schedule at thecomedyclublfk.com.

Kaufman said the combination of early and late shows should be a good way to capture a mix of college students and older Lawrence residents. He said the club wants to be more than just an entertainment venue for the college crowd.

“I’ve heard there is a little bit of a lack of entertainment for the general citizens of Lawrence,” Kaufman said. “I think that is a gap we can fill. I think we can appeal to every audience.”

The club hopes its food and drink offerings will help on that front. The club will feature a full menu that includes smash burgers, wraps, and lots of appetizers such as house-made hummus, hand-breaded fried pickles, panko-crusted cheese cubes, and some dessert offerings that pair soft chocolate chip cookies with a White Russian cocktail.

The bar’s offerings will include about a dozen speciality cocktails, plus a selection of martinis, beer and wine.

The comedy shows, though, will be the club’s calling card, and a unique one at that. Kaufman — who has owned The Comedy Club of Kansas City for about six years but has been in the comedy business for 25 years — said he’s never known Lawrence to have a true comedy club.

But he said Lawrence certainly does have comedians. He said open mic nights are popular at several Lawrence bars. The Comedy Club of Lawrence plans to make open mic sessions a regular part of its Wednesday offerings. It also hopes to pull from local talent to serve as a host and warm-up act for headliners at the club. Through Oct. 15, the club is taking applications on its website from people who want to compete in a two-week contest that will select an emerging comic for a $250 prize and a weekend’s worth of paid work hosting shows at the club.

Kaufman said he been looking to expand with a second comedy club for awhile, and had considered the Topeka and Columbia, Mo. markets. But he said Lawrence’s downtown district seems to be a good fit for a comedy club, with its mix of older adults coming down for early evening dining and shopping, and then college students keeping the district busy into the early morning hours.

“I think in the course of one evening, we can draw a little bit from the entire city,” Kaufman said.

He said it also will be fun acquainting Lawrence residents with a new type of entertainment option.

“I think people will really appreciate the live comedy aspect,” Kaufman said. “A comedy club is a vacation down the street from your house. You can go inside, forget about it and laugh about it.”