By Tommy Vo
On the north side of Grand Rapids, The Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill is serving up engaging entertainment in addition to delicious food and refreshing beverages for customers..
One of the bar’s most prominent events is its comedy night hosted every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Not only is this event a great opportunity for comedy fans and people interested in comedy to experience a good time locally, but folks who want to try their hand at performing also have the chance to showcase their material through the event’s open mic structure.
Throughout its history, Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill has been a staple in northern Grand Rapids. Located at 819 Ottawa Ave NW, the building was originally built as a grocery store in 1941, but the evolution of providing the residents of Grand Rapids with warm hospitality remains present, evident since the last remodel in 2014. Formerly known as Teazer’s Bar & Grill, the now innovative Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill hopes to increase the bond with its community by providing various events spanning all different kinds of mediums. Alongside the bar’s comedy night, they also have live music performances for audiences to enjoy as well!
Monica Middleton, who has been managing the Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill for eight years aims to further build this symbiotic relationship between the bar and its customers. With the event having no entry fee, Middleton emphasizes the opportunity people have to not only view the stand-up event but also participate in it as well. The bar’s comedy night started about seven years ago.
“We’re always looking for comics, too,” Middleton said. “They reach out to (comedy night host Tyler Caldwell) online and fill in the spots, so anybody could really do it. It’s not just a set group of people every week.”
Caldwell is the event host and a student at Grand Valley State University majoring in writing, who has had a keen interest in comedy ever since middle school. It will be close to three years that he has been performing stand-up comedy.Ever since he has been doing stand-up at the Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill, he has seen a handful of interesting acts. One of the more notable acts he’s witnessed would be one of the bits that his comedian peer Brendan Morris came up with. This bit would see Morris putting peanut butter on his shirtless body and walking out to do his act with the intent of utterly surprising the audience.
When asked about thoughts on performing at the Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill and the entirety of Grand Rapids as a whole, Caldwell only had positive things to say about the local scene.
“The Grand Rapids community of comedy is objectively the best in the state,” Caldwell said. “Some people aren’t going to like I said that.”
Caldwell is from the Detroit area originally and says he still loves the comedy in that area. But, since Detroit is a big city he said comics like himself would have to wait hours upon hours to get their turn on these stand-up nights with very little time to let the audience hear their material.
With the Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill staff carefully planning out set times, more comics are able to put forth their material with more time to perform as well. Caldwell also encourages more college students to attend comedy night events, as more and more young comics are performing their bits featuring material college students would find relatable.
