Like clockwork, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday a line snakes down 15th Street at Larimer Square with ticket holders eager to experience what Time Magazine refers to as “The Most Innovative Club.” In 2005 alone, more than 110,000 people stood in this line to enter Denver’s Comedy Works, waiting to see the nation’s most notable comics, as well the organic growth of a new local crop as well.

The success of this 25 year old club can be attributed to owner Wende Curtis, who purchased the establishment in 2001. Serving as general manager for more than ten years, Curtis joined Comedy Works as a cocktail server in 1986 while still in college. She successfully steered the business through a slump seen nationwide in venues across the country during the early 90’s. In the past five years, Comedy Works has seen a double-digit increase in sales growth—quite a feat in the landscape of increasing production costs and competition for consumer entertainment dollars. Some patrons will tell you this financial success is due in part to the quality of headliners that pack the 300 seat house, such as Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Dennis Miller, Tracy Morgan, Darrell Hammond, Kathleen Madigan, Kevin Nealon and many more. Others might insist the club obtained its reputation because it is the only entity outside of New York and Los Angeles holding weekly New Talent Nights—a critical element to growing the talent pool and ensuring the longevity of stand-up comedy and the careers of many worthy local comedians.

In addition to bolstering the variety and quality of Downtown Denver’s entertainment, Comedy Works also donates over $300,000 in benefit tickets to local and national charities including Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Colorado Human Rights Campaign, Children’s Advocacy Center, Children’s Hospital, SafeHouse Denver and many more.

Comedy Works and owner Wende Curtis are the paragon of the American entrepreneurial dream and have elevated Downtown Denver’s national status on the comedy circuit so that today they are ranked among the “Top 5 Comedy Clubs in America” by USA Today.