“I was doing comedy shows in Cincinnati, and I hired Ray to come down and do some comedy for me,” Sanders said. “That’s how we got to know each other, so we just stayed in touch over the years.”
Sanders was born in Dayton but moved to Atlanta and stayed there for 17 years. He moved back just before the pandemic hit. He has been in the entertainment industry booking musical and comedy acts with various agencies.
Sanders has also managed celebrities around the world. Sanders said that he started going to local comedy shows when he got the idea to branch out on his own.
“Partly, I believe this is the next area where God is leading me,” Sanders said. “When it comes to the entertainment industry, I was going to comedy events people invited me to, but many really weren’t conducive for comedy.”
Instead of an open mic at a bar or a giant show at a comedy club, Sanders wanted something that was more intimate and upscale. In May, he acquired the venue and started to transform it into The Laugh Zone House of Comedy.
Currently, the venue has 70 seats with three tiers: general admission, In The Zone VIP and Front Row VIP. Small tables connect the seats and will be adorned with QR codes so patrons can scan the code to order food and drinks that will be brought to their seat by a waitress.
Sanders said they are working on getting the liquor license, but it may not be available for the soft opening. However, the grand opening will be in September and the license should be acquired by then.
The venue is also partnering with the neighboring restaurant, Nolan Hibachi, for food preparation. Food will include chicken and fish baskets and more.
The website has a sign-up page for comedians to introduce themselves and share links to their content. Sanders and Jackson said this is so the comedians can be vetted. Both want solid comics performing. Jackson will be helping out in that area.
Forty comedians have already registered.
“This isn’t TV. It has to be run a certain way. The ambiance has to meet the talent,” Jackson said. “We want this to be more of a mature environment. Not saying we turn away young people, but we … are really trying to feature comics that are moving up.”
Jackson said they will start with booked shows, but want to branch out to include music, spoken word and themed shows. Sanders said he would like to have a Sunday show called Gospel and Giggles where people can perform family-friendly clean comedy, but comedy is definitely the focus.
“We are definitely a comedy house,” Sanders said. “That’s what we want to the public to know. We want the community to know that we’re here to do comedy. We’re not here to have a bar, where people hang out, get drunk and crash into the pole down the street. We don’t do that.”
Photos of comedians adorn the walls including greats such as Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson and Richard Pryor. Sanders said they plan to put Ohio comedic icons on the front of the building including Phyllis Diller, Arsenio Hall and Dave Chappelle. Sanders said he wants his comedy house to include everyone.
“Another thing about this place is I want it to be multicultural,” Sanders said. “I don’t want it to be about Black comedians or white comedians. I want everybody to be able to come and enjoy. That was something me and Ray talked about. We want to try to make it as multicultural as we can and not just make it about the black community just because we are in the black community.”
More details
The soft opening comedy showcase with Jackson will be Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7:15 p.m. The doors open at 6 p.m. Currently, the Front Row VIP tickets are sold out and the In The Zone VIP tickets are close to being sold out and are $35. There are still general admission tickets available for $10 that can be purchased by going to the website at thelaughzonehouseofcomedy.com.
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