{"id":89715,"date":"2026-08-22T09:49:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T16:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=89715"},"modified":"2026-08-22T09:50:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T16:50:06","slug":"bellflower-isnt-known-for-stand-up-this-club-is-changing-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/bellflower-isnt-known-for-stand-up-this-club-is-changing-that","title":{"rendered":"Bellflower isn’t known for stand-up. This club is changing that"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was originally published by LAist<\/a> on Aug. 22, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellflower isn\u2019t exactly known for its stand-up comedy culture. But that may be changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2021, comedians like Tisha Campbell, Frankie Qui\u00f1ones and Jo Koy have taken the stage at The Stand Up Comedy Club<\/u><\/a> in downtown Bellflower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe knew that the Downeys, the Cerritos, the Lakewoods, the Long Beaches, the Norwalks, and Compton and Paramount would come,\u201d said general manager and co-owner John Giries. \u201cThat was our bet, and it’s been working.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

From a comedy magazine to a comedy club<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Giries, a former stand-up comedian himself, grew up in Bellflower. He co-created and helped run The Stand Up Comedy Magazine<\/u><\/a> in the mid-aughts, along with his late friend and fellow comedian Julian Vazquez. Names such as Maz Jobrani, Sebastian Maniscalco and Rachel Feinstein all graced its cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Vazquez\u2019s passing in 2020, Giries decided to put the magazine on hold indefinitely and launch a comedy club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Stand Up Comedy Club in Bellflower. Photo by Audrey Ngo, LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Giries\u2019 family was an investor in Hambone\u2019s BBQ Smokehouse on Belmont Street, next door to the Bellflower Theatre, downtown. He recalled seeing that theater for the first time and how it felt like something out of a movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was one of those moments like “Field of Dreams” where Kevin Costner saw the baseball diamond being built in the cornfield,\u201d Giries said. \u201cAnd I kind of looked at it and said, \u2018you know, I can see it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After doing gut renovations and waiting through the first year of the pandemic, Giries and his wife and co-owner, Scarlett, opened the club in June 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roughly 2,400-square-foot space seats 140 and has a full bar with a steakhouse feel. Photos and memorabilia of Robin Williams, Richard Pryor and Phyllis Diller pay tribute to some of comedy\u2019s legends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Bellflower, not Hollywood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Giries had always planned to have famous comedians perform here. He chose Bellflower because it didn\u2019t have the competition of legacy clubs such as the Improv, The Comedy Store or the Laugh Factory. It was also a closer alternative for locals who didn\u2019t want to brave Hollywood traffic and pay for valet parking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Interior and stage of The Stand Up Comedy Club in Bellflower. Photo by Audrey Ngo, LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Bellflower] fit the criteria of what we wanted to do. It’s not in the desert. You’re not by the beach and it’s easy to get to if you live in a five to 10 mile radius,\u201d Giries said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo never L.A. Never thought about it once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landing the headliners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the first three years of opening the club, Giries focused on getting big-name acts. He had already made connections with notable performers through his magazine, and was able to enlist help from talent bookers including Richard Barrett<\/u><\/a>, who was the entertainment director for The Comedy and Magic Club<\/u><\/a> in Hermosa Beach. Giries credits Barrett as \u201cone of the best bookers in L.A.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Deon Cole, Sheryl Underwood, Paul Reiser, Billy Gardell, Chaunt\u00e9 Wayans and others have taken the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That list is growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stand Up Comedy Club<\/strong>
Where:\u00a0<\/strong>9831 Belmont St., Bellflower
Check the club’s\u00a0event calendar<\/a>\u00a0for upcoming lineups<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stormy Daniels visited the club in July on her “Unicorns in the Kitchen” storytelling and comedy tour. Last week, Jamie Foxx produced and hosted a comedy special featuring Donald Ray \u201cSpeedy\u201d Caldwell. All four shows were sold out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giries recognizes that the club is still young, but is proud of what they\u2019ve accomplished since opening five years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one remembers, \u2018Hey, they’ve been here for 30 years,'” Giries said. \u201cThey just remember, \u2018Man, that club was kind of cool. They really took care of us. That was really funny stuff there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a closer alternative for locals who don’t want to brave Hollywood traffic and pay for valet parking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":89718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32409],"class_list":["post-89715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89715"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89722,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89715\/revisions\/89722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89715"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=89715"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=89715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}