House of Comedy

What House of Comedy does

House of Comedy operates a chain of three live stand-up comedy venues across North America: the original Comic Strip location at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta; a 300-seat venue at the historic Columbia Theatre in New Westminster, British Columbia; and a 300-seat venue at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The core product is ticket-based access to live stand-up performances featuring touring headliners, emerging talent, and house-run competitions (e.g., Funniest Person Contest), with supporting offerings that include full food and beverage service subject to a two-item minimum per customer, gift cards, a Birthday Club membership program, and group/corporate booking options.

Revenue is generated through three streams: one-time ticket purchases (with a higher-priced Special Presentation / Concert Series tier that excludes discounts), transactional food and beverage sales during shows, and pre-paid gift card balances. Distribution is multi-channel: tickets are sold through the company's website (powered by Tixr), via phone and walk-up box offices, and through third-party marketplaces including Groupon. Marketing is concentrated on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) for promotion, with email signup for top-of-mind retention. The company operates as a private entity with a wholly owned brand portfolio and no disclosed parent company, funding rounds, or acquisitions beyond the retention of The Comic Strip sub-brand.

Operationally, there is no proprietary technology platform; the business relies on standard venue infrastructure and off-the-shelf ticketing, calendar, payment, and email marketing vendors. Customer segments span general adult consumers, corporate groups (reserved seating for 6-8+), special occasion celebrants (birthdays, stag/stagettes), and hospitality-industry workers (free Sunday entry with valid ID). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by show tier, with industry discounts (Groupon) and partnership-driven promotional offers layered on top of standard ticket prices.

Name

House of Comedy

Legal name

House of Comedy

Website

https://houseofcomedy.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

House of Comedy operates a chain of three live stand-up comedy venues across North America — in Edmonton AB, New Westminster BC, and Bloomington MN — serving general consumers, corporate groups, and special occasion celebrants with ticketed performances, full food and beverage service, and group booking programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Comedy Entertainment Venues

NAICS

Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Comedy Clubs (Nightlife Venues) (MPAGAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comedy Shows & Spoken-Word Events (THAJAFAC), Stand-Up Comedy Shows (MPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Live comedy shows
• Stand-up comedy venues
• Comedy club entertainment
• Dinner comedy experience
• Comedy event ticketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets to live comedy performances. Tickets are sold online, by phone, and at the box office. Prices vary by show with Special Presentation shows commanding higher prices.
2. Food and Beverage Sales: Full food and beverage service during shows with a complete menu of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Two-item minimum per customer. Revenue from alcoholic beverages and food orders.
3. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards for tickets and food/beverage purchases, providing pre-paid revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

House of Comedy operates a chain of live stand-up comedy venues across North America (New Westminster BC, Bloomington MN, Edmonton AB), selling tickets to comedy performances featuring touring acts from platforms such as Just for Laughs, Comedy Central, HBO, and major late-night shows. Each venue combines the comedy performance with full food and beverage service (appetizers, entrees, desserts, drinks) under a "Drink Dine Laugh" concept, supplemented by gift cards, a birthday club, group bookings, and the recurring "Funniest Person Contest."

Product overview

House of Comedy is a comedy venue chain offering live stand-up comedy performances across multiple locations in North America. The core product is live comedy shows featuring both established touring acts and emerging talent. The company operates venues in New Westminster, BC (Columbia Theatre), Bloomington, MN (Mall of America), and Edmonton, AB (West Edmonton Mall). Supporting products include food and beverage service, gift cards, birthday club membership, and group booking capabilities. The portfolio operates under the unified 'Drink Dine Laugh' brand positioning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Comedy Shows Stand-up comedy performances featuring touring acts and emerging talent with credits on Just for Laughs Festival, The Late Show, The Tonight Show, The Daily Show, Comedy Central, HBO, and Showtime, available to general consumers and groups at each venue.
• Food & Beverage Service Full menu service including appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks available to attendees during shows at all House of Comedy locations, with a 2-item minimum per person.
• Gift Cards Pre-paid gift cards redeemable for ticket purchases and food/beverage orders at House of Comedy locations, available through the Tixr group page.
• Birthday Club Membership Free membership program that issues complimentary birthday invitations to members and provides special offerings for stag and stagette party bookings at House of Comedy venues.
• Group Bookings & Venue Rental Reserved group seating for parties of 8 or more at the BC location and 6 or more at the Minnesota location, plus venue rental options for private and corporate events.
• Funniest Person Contest Recurring stand-up comedy competition event hosted at House of Comedy locations, featuring semi-final and final rounds where audiences attend to watch competing comedians.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TixrcoreTechnology or IntegrationTixr is the ticketing platform powering House of Comedy's online ticket sales. The platform handles event listings, ticket purchases, and event management. Footer branding indicates Tixr as the official ticketing partner.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Comedy Cafe Berlin / Yuk Yuk's (Canadian comedy club chain): Yuk Yuk's operates a Canadian chain of comedy clubs featuring ticketed stand-up shows alongside food and beverage service. It is the most direct Canadian analog to House of Comedy's comedy-club chain model and shares geographic overlap with House of Comedy's BC and Alberta venues.
• Punch Line Comedy Clubs: Punch Line operates comedy venues in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego and Philadelphia featuring ticketed stand-up shows with food and beverage service. It is a multi-location stand-up comedy operator directly comparable to House of Comedy's venue, ticketing, and F&B structure.
• Helium Comedy Club: Helium Comedy Club operates comedy venues in Portland, Indianapolis, and St. Louis with a focus on national touring headliners and full bar/restaurant service. It mirrors House of Comedy's venue-based model featuring roughly 300-seat capacity shows, walking-distance F&B service, and tiered Special Presentation programming.
• Funny Bone Comedy Club: Funny Bone operates a chain of stand-up comedy clubs located primarily in shopping malls and entertainment districts across the U.S. Like House of Comedy, it combines ticketed stand-up shows with full food and beverage service and books both touring headliners and developing talent. Several locations are in malls, similar to House of Comedy's Mall of America venue.
• The Stand NYC / Comedy Clubs Group: The Stand NYC is a comedy venue featuring ticketed stand-up shows with full food and bar service, located alongside several other NYC comedy rooms run by similar operators. Directly comparable to House of Comedy in venue size, ticketed-show + F&B business model, and emphasis on mid-sized touring talent programming.
• Laugh Factory: Laugh Factory operates comedy clubs in major markets (Hollywood, Long Beach, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York City) featuring well-known touring headliners with full food and beverage service. It is a multi-location comedy venue chain with similar ticketed-show + F&B revenue structure to House of Comedy.
• Hollywood Improv (Improv Comedy Clubs): Improv operates multiple comedy club locations (Hollywood, Brea, Irvine, Ontario, San Jose, Chicago, Tampa, Raleigh, Pittsburgh, Atlantic City) presenting touring stand-up acts alongside food and beverage service. Comparable to House of Comedy in scale, multi-venue model, and ticketed show programming with a wide touring-talent roster.
• The Comedy Store: The Comedy Store operates iconic stand-up comedy clubs (Los Angeles, Hollywood, Long Beach, San Diego and historically La Jolla/New York). It is a like-for-like multi-location stand-up comedy venue operator with full bar service and recurring touring-talent programming, directly comparable to House of Comedy's venue-and-shows model.

Others

• Tixr: Tixr is the ticketing platform provider powering House of Comedy's online ticket sales across its locations. It is not a competitor but an enabling technology vendor and ecosystem partner; comparable peers include Eventbrite, Ticketmaster, and DICE as ticketing infrastructure providers in the live entertainment ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Live Nation Entertainment: Live Nation is the largest live entertainment promoter/venue operator globally, owning and operating hundreds of theaters, clubs, and amphitheaters. While not a comedy specialist, it competes with House of Comedy for touring comedian bookings and represents the broader incumbent landscape in ticketed live entertainment against which House of Comedy competes for talent and dates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/houseofcomedybc
• Facebookfacebook.com/HouseOfComedyMOA
• Instagraminstagram.com/houseofcomedybc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/house-of-comedy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about House of Comedy