St. Pete Is Suddenly a Comedy Town — Three Clubs Are Opening in 2026
Side Splitters, St. Pete Comedy Club, and Sunshine Comedy Café are all landing in downtown St. Pete this year — here's what's driving the boom.
On the map
The exact spot — handy for figuring out which neighborhood you're really in.
I was walking through Sundial the other day — you know, sizing up the Forbici construction progress — and I noticed the framing going in on another second-floor space nearby. Turns out it's Side Splitters. It hit me: downtown St. Pete is about to have not one, not two, but three dedicated comedy clubs operating within blocks of each other. That's not a coincidence. Something is happening here, and it's worth paying attention to.
Side Splitters Is Bringing a 250-Seat Club to Sundial
Side Splitters Comedy Club, one of Tampa's longest-running comedy clubs, is expanding to downtown St. Pete with a new modern club at the Sundial shopping center, signing a lease to open a 250-seat venue on the second level of the complex at 153 2nd Avenue North.
The 5,600-square-foot space, formerly part of FarmTable Cucina — which closed at the end of 2019 — is being custom-built from the ground up and is expected to debut by summer 2026.
That's any day now.
Over the years, Side Splitters has hosted comedy heavyweights including Louis C.K., Matt Rife, Jim Breuer, and Shane Gillis.
Owner Brian Thompson has been clear about his vision for the St. Pete venue:
"St. Pete will build its own legacy,"
he said — meaning they're not just transplanting the Carrollwood vibe across the bridge, they're starting fresh.
There's also a nice bit of synergy happening in that building:
Side Splitters may also sell pizza from Forbici Modern Italian, which is opening a new location in the former Sea Salt space.
A 250-seat comedy club with Forbici pizza on the menu? That's a date-night package I can get behind.
Attendees have long been asking for a St. Pete location, prompting the search for a second space with clear sightlines, convenient parking, and room for a lively audience, yet still offering the same intimate experience.
Thompson expects the new spot to draw
1,000 to 1,500 guests over the weekends.
And Side Splitters Isn't Even the Only New Club
Here's where it gets interesting.
This marks the second stand-up club heading to the city in 2026 — and St. Pete's comedy scene is about to get crowded.
St. Pete Stand-Up launched St. Pete Comedy Club at 1745 1st Ave. S., giving the area a permanent club in 2026. Bob Holden founded St. Pete Stand-Up back in March 2022 with one monthly show at St. Pete Brewing — and the group now runs more than 20 shows per month.
The club occupies 3,600 square feet where Avid Brew Company once operated
in the Grand Central District.
Then there's a third:
Sunshine Comedy Café opened in June at 443 1st Ave. North in downtown St. Pete, with a space that holds between 35 and 45 people.
It's the intimate, neighborhood-scale option — think local comics and new material nights rather than national headliners.
What's striking is how the founders of these clubs view each other.
Holden sees Side Splitters' arrival as good news: "The more comedy there is, the better it is for everyone," he said. "It just puts more attention on the city."
Why This Matters Beyond Laughs
Three comedy clubs in one city in one year is a signal, not a coincidence. It tells you that foot traffic downtown has reached a threshold where entertainment concepts can operate here on a nightly basis — not just festivals and one-offs.
As one club owner put it: "With everything happening, my hope is that comedians will want to move here. It's becoming a place where you can actually perform multiple nights a week and build something."
That's the story underneath the story. St. Pete isn't just attracting tourists and snowbirds — it's becoming a place where creative professionals are relocating to build careers. Comedy writers, performers, producers. And wherever that creative class puts down roots, neighborhoods follow.
If you're curious what's driving all of this energy — and what it means for the blocks around Sundial and the Grand Central District — I track this kind of stuff obsessively. The Grand Central District and surrounding walkable neighborhoods are exactly the kind of areas where cultural momentum like this starts to show up in home values within 18–24 months.
For anyone thinking seriously about buying in downtown St. Pete or the 33701 zip code, the entertainment infrastructure being built right now is the kind of detail that doesn't show up in comps yet — but it will.
In the meantime, get your OpenTable reservations for Forbici, and go book a laugh at one of three new comedy clubs. This city keeps delivering.