VERY FUNNY

LAUGHTER, GOOD FOOD AND IMPRESSIVE COMEDIANS ARE FOUND AT THE COMEDY VAULT By Jonathan Bilyk | Photo by Shaw Media

As Mike Knuth sees it, his newest Tri-Cities entertainment venue, The Comedy Vault, is not only filling a void, but meeting obvious public demand. In the most hilarious way possible. “When we saw the demand for this, how could we not do this?” says Knuth. “It’s a really cool story. It just took a little longer than we thought.” The story began with the demise of one of the Tri-Cities’ most beloved local landmarks, the former Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. For decades, Pheasant Run had not only welcomed thousands of guests per year — it also entertained them, thanks to an assortment of live musical and theatrical acts, among other attractions. But since the late 1980s, the resort also served as the home of St. Charles’ Zanies Comedy Club. The venue, now closed, played host to some top quality local and national comedy acts. Zanies was a regular entertainment destination for Knuth, who has owned and operated the popular EvenFlow bar, restaurant and live music venue in Geneva since 2011. “We all loved it,” he remembers. “So many great acts came through there; we’d go all the time.” With no dedicated live comedy venues left in the Tri-Cities, Knuth decided to try something new at EvenFlow and, for the first time, allow stand-up comics to open for headliner musical acts at the downtown Geneva club. The first night, Knuth says, was a revelation. “We staffed it for 50 guests,” he says. “We had 325 people show up.” Recognizing the opportunity, Knuth teamed up with a business partner, Liz Valaitis, and quickly began work on the idea that would become The Comedy Vault. Valaitis found the location in one of downtown Batavia’s most prominent downtown spots: inside the former Batavia National Bank, at the corner of Wilson Street and Route 25. Lining up private investors, Knuth says the partners had all things ready to open the club, with a scheduled opening night in March 2020. When stay-at-home orders continued, Knuth says the partnership opted to use the time to work on the space, gutting and renovating the old bank building. “We named it The Comedy Vault, specifically because of the old vault, still inside the old bank,” says Knuth. After the show at EvenFlow, Knuth says it quickly became apparent a comedy venue wouldn’t work well at a traditional nightclub setting, with glasses clinking and drink orders being shouted out at the bar as the comedians tried to present their routines. At The Comedy Vault, however, the bar is set up inside the old bank vault, creating a muffling barrier between the sections of the club where the bartenders sling drinks and the comics bring laughs. Finally, in fall 2021, The Comedy Vault welcomed its first acts and guests. Over the course of the year since, the club’s profile has steadily risen, as more and bigger acts have cracked their jokes from the Batavia stage, drawing increasingly more fans for each show. Upcoming performers include Jason Banks, scheduled to take the stage in January 2023. Knuth says the club has “bids in” on “big names” for the future, who Knuth envisions playing a few shows in Batavia as they swing through Chicago. The venue hosts an open mic night every Wednesday, with slots for up to 25 comedians to try the stage. National acts take the stage every Thursday-Saturday. Always teamed with an opening act and a comic host, the performances offer guests the chance to hear up to three comedians, with tickets starting at $25. The Comedy Vault also recently launched a Sunday matinee all-ages improv show, presented by The Improv Heist comedy troupe. All guests 12 and younger receive free admission. “It’s all professional improv performers, kind of like ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’” Knuth says. “You can bet I’ll be bringing my 11-year-old kid all the time.” The Comedy Vault can seat 175 people per show, and boasts a full food menu and bar. “We constantly get new guests in, from around here and further away, and we always hear people say, ‘We didn’t know this existed, from the outside it looks just like a bank,’” Knuth says with a laugh. “And we tell them, that’s because that it was. “But now it’s The Comedy Vault.”

THE ARTS SCENE IN THE TRI-CITIES OFFERS A PLETHORA OF OPTIONS FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT! CHECK OUT THESE 15 KANE COUNTY’S FINEST WINNERS:

 LIVE MUSIC VENUE Finest: Arcada Theatre One of the finest: RiverEdge Park One of the finest: Paramount Theatre

 LIVE THEATRE Finest: Paramount Theatre One of the finest: Arcada Theatre One of the finest: Batavia Fine Arts Centre

 MUSEUM/CULTURAL Finest: Batavia Depot Museum One of the finest: St. Charles History Museum & The Curious Fox Gift Shop One of the finest: Geneva History Museum

 PUBLIC GOLF COURSE Finest: Pottawatomie Golf Course One of the finest: Prairie Landing Golf Club One of the finest: Hughes Creek Golf Course

 TRAVEL AGENT Finest: Travel A Latte One of the finest: Oui Travel One of the finest: Wilson Travel & Cruise