Postponed by January fires, comedy-industry vets open the Upstairs club downtown

In December, the Upstairs Comedy Club’s holiday party was packed with talent including Craig Robinson and Deon Cole. A downtown location, 250 capacity and leather booths made the second-floor space feel like an intimate community hub. L.A.’s newest comedy venue had yet to welcome the public, though Jan. 16 marked the scheduled soft opening. Plans were postponed and reassessed following the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Following “Jordan Rock and Friends,” the eventual soft opening on Feb. 8, the Upstairs opened doors to the public on March 5 with two sold-out performances from Rene Vaca, a viral 28-year-old comic from the San Fernando Valley. (Vaca will soon begin appearing monthly.) On Saturday, “The Office” star Robinson returned to close out an 8 p.m. lineup including Chaunte Wayans, Jay Larson and Alonzo Bodden.

“Happy International Women’s Day!” he crooned to the well-dressed, dancing audience, playing keyboard and creating his own song medleys combining “Edelweiss,” “Summer Lovin,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “I Want It That Way,” and “Hot in Herre.” Robinson extended his interactive set, chatting with the grandmother in the front row and pulling an aspiring crooner from the back to riff a few Blues numbers.

Under booker Sarah Mello, who spearheaded clothing-donation drives following January’s fires, proceeds from all shows benefit the experience-forward Big Smile Foundation and SevaSphere, a nonprofit addressing local homelessness and food insecurity.

The Upstairs’ 6,000-square-foot space at 1415 S. Los Angeles St. is north of the 10 in the Fashion District. There is a two-drink minimum and popcorn for sale at present, with future plans expanding to ground-level retail and Italian dining. Street parking is free; an attended lot across 15th Street at 1501 S. Los Angeles is $8. The club’s ticketing and scheduling information are at TheUpstairsLA.com.

Downtown offers a “young, hip” and dense population, plus a more diverse type of fan base than Hollywood or Santa Monica’s clusters of comedy venues, says Mello.

Owner Sam Sleiman, a partner in Kinetic Media Management, purchased the building with the intention, he says, to “make the Fashion District fashionable.” Before the former warehouse space was upgraded, he recalls, it was packed high with dusty storage boxes reaching the metal rafters overhead. Wholesale business owners in the area, struggling as clothing sales increasingly move online, look to reshape the district across the next decade.

“It’s safe, it’s changing, and it’s definitely worth coming to take a look at,” Sleiman says of downtown L.A. He cites the club’s security staff and ongoing conversations with city officials including chief of police Jim McDonnell, aiming to challenge ingrained perceptions of the neighborhood after dark.

Original “Saturday Night Live” castmember Garrett Morris maintained his Downtown Blues & Comedy Club in different locations from 2007 until closing during the pandemic. Under producer Abbey Londer (now chief of staff at Netflix Is a Joke festival), the high-profile Riot L.A. Comedy Festival continued 2012-2017 in DTLA theaters and bars. Weekly and monthly shows have continued rotating at comedy-friendly outposts such as Crane’s Bar or Grand Central Market post-pandemic, but full-time clubs haven’t historically tested their luck downtown.

Diversity and discovery are among Mello’s booking priorities at the Upstairs. “Funny is funny. I don’t care what you look like; are you funny?” she asks. She hopes the Upstairs becomes known for consistently good shows no matter the night or the lineup. “I get the best of the best, but I’m also going to introduce you to the next best.”

Having worked “all of the main clubs” since 2007, learning the business side from hostess to management, the Mello Comedic live-production brand expanded across the country and into nationwide casting. Pandemic lockdown saw Mello pivot to Zoom and outdoor shows, including multiple locations downtown. She met Enrique Salazar, who originally brought her on at Icon Concerts, the touring home of Gabriel Iglesias and Jo Koy.

A lounge section, album-art wall mural, backstage area and other offstage space will be available for comics to utilize when recording podcasts and filming projects.

“Stand-up artists are creatives,” says Upstairs manager Salazar, a veteran of L.A. clubs for more than 15 years. “Our space is their space to use whenever they want. We are just a stopping ground in the trajectory of their career.”

Hoping to equate the Upstairs’ stand-up talent with that of any productions from the Broadway Theatre District six blocks north, Sleiman envisions paying more per spot, perhaps even double current spot rates at more established L.A. clubs, with “the idea that comics should be able to do three or four spots a night around town without a day job.”

Respecting stand-up artistry in a live setting also ensures that audience experiences remain paramount. Particularly when underserved audiences are living in the aftermath of devastating fires or escalating sociopolitical upheaval, Mello says. “Comedy’s always needed, but definitely now more than ever,” she emphasizes. “We can sit around and be sad or grumpy and complain about the world, or you can just go out and get a good laugh. Any escape that’s needed, I want our club to be the place where people come to do that.”

Echoes Salazar: “Laughter is so important to people. It’s a great way to forget about the issues and troubles you’re having, especially in a world that seems to be very divided currently. One thing we can all kind of agree on is needing to have a laugh together. Comedy gives you the opening to do that.”