By 1976, The Comedy Store’s popularity in Hollywood and Westwood was gathering steam and favorable press. At that time, Mitzi’s son Scott, a young real estate developer in San Diego, found a room in Pacific Beach that would be perfect for The Comedy Store. It was a 180-seat room with great acoustics on the first floor of the TD Hays Steak and Seafood restaurant, located in PB on the beach. The deal was struck and on Memorial Day weekend and opened shortly thereafter.
La Jolla
Mitzi brought four comics down to San Diego in a ‘71 Cadillac limo she bought for the weekly trips down south, including Dave Letterman, George Miller, Johnny Witherspoon and Gary Muledeer. A club was born. In the first year, a young San Diego TV and radio personality, Larry Himmel emceed many of the shows, helping to spread the word about the great shows on the air. The room was an instant smash hit and it became The Comedy Store’s first paid professional gig for Mitzi’s comedians. It paid most of the comics’ rent at the time.
A year later Mitzi told the restaurant she was raising the cover charge prices. They balked at the idea, believing it would hurt their drink sales. Mitzi heard from her son Scott about a disco that was available in La Jolla. When she saw the room, Mitzi realized immediately it had perfect acoustics for comedy and she leased the room right away. In August of 1977, The Comedy Store La Jolla opened, and again, Dave Letterman was on hand to throw out the opening joke. It’s been a hit ever since. Today, the La Jolla Store provides San Diego comedy fans a professional show featuring Comedy Store pros from Los Angeles every weekend, and popular shows featuring local San Diego professional comics during the week. The La Jolla Comedy Store room is hands-down the favorite comedy room of any comedian who’s ever played there.