Photo via sunshinecitycomedyclub/Facebook
The former location of Coconuts Comedy Club is now home to Sunshine City Comedy Club.
For years, 5501 Gulf Blvd. was home to a comedy club that had multiple shows every week. And it still is; but for several months it’s been a different business with different owners. The former location of Coconuts Comedy Club is now home to Sunshine City Comedy Club. And while Sunshine City was established in 2023, Coconuts had been a Tampa Bay comedy destination for decades.
“Thirty-seven years on St. Pete Beach. We’re the oldest comedy club in Florida,” said Coconuts owner Bob Shoemaker.
Acts such as Billy Gardell, Larry The Cable Guy and Jim Breuer were playing at one of the various Coconuts locations long before they became famous, and Shoemaker has seen the ebbs and flows of live comedy since back when stand up specials were exclusively on cable television. There was no YouTube, Facebook (or even Myspace), streaming services or comedian websites when he opened his first club. It was just a mic, a stage, and a lot of hopefuls wanting to get a few laughs and maybe build a career. And Shoemaker did his part to help them get there.
But now his club isn’t the one hosting shows on Gulf Boulevard. So what happened?
“This guy, Kenny Garcia, snuck in and stole my location,” Shoemaker said soon after Coconuts closed. “Real simple, cut and dried.” According to Shoemaker, Coconuts had an agreement with the bar next door, MJ’s, to hold comedy shows there. MJ’s held the lease, Shoemaker ran the shows, and all went well at this location for about eight years.
Shoemaker said that Garcia bought the lease from MJ’s and told him to vacate the premises, then started his own club. And that’s why the jokes are being told under the Sunshine City banner instead of Coconuts.
Garcia said he never “stole” anything from Shoemaker, but simply had a chance to fulfill his dream, followed the appropriate processes, and went for it.
“The idea of opening up a comedy club is something I’ve been thinking of for a long time,” said Garcia around the time Sunshine City first opened. “A business opportunity presented itself to open a club, and I took advantage of it as any businessman would do.”
Garcia has 15 years’ experience as a touring comedian and used the money he earned from the road to open Sunshine City. He also said that Coconuts didn’t have a long-term lease and the move had been planned for several months, so it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when it actually happened.
Garcia said he was eager to get off the road and establish roots in the St. Petersburg area. He also wanted to open a modern, updated model for a comedy club by presenting a relaxed, speakeasy vibe that differed from larger venues that relied on big-name talent to fill seats. His goal was to give up-and-coming comedians the space to hone their comedy and find their voice, and he’s accomplished that so far: Many local performers have had their first feature and headlining spots at Sunshine City since it opened.
Garcia said he’s focused on letting comedians experiment with their craft, adding other special events and making sure women are well-represented on the schedule. “I’m proud to have built a place for comedians to have a platform to try and become free on stage, and a place for locals to get great nightly entertainment,” Garcia said.
Unlike most comedy clubs that mostly schedule weekend shows, Sunshine City is open seven nights a week, with a variety of different comedy formats.
But while Sunshine City is the comedy club on Gulf Boulevard, that doesn’t mean Coconuts is gone for good. When the change happened, Shoemaker said he’d be back.
“I’ve been there eight years. I didn’t want to leave,” Shoemaker said at the time. “I’m working on getting into a new room now.”
As of October that still hasn’t happened yet, but Shoemaker told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay he’s met with the city and applied for licenses, and hopes to open his club by the end of the year in the same general area as before.
Garcia said he has no problem with another comedy club opening in the area, and believes that more comedy venues will benefit everybody in the long run.
“I wish (Shoemaker) the best of luck. I have a great amount of respect for what he’s done and how long he’s been in business,” Garcia said. “Competition is great amongst venues. It makes you try harder.”
The end result should be more laughter for the tourists and locals in Tampa Bay, even if it isn’t always smiles behind the scenes. For more information about Sunshine City Comedy Club, visit sunshinecitycomedyclub.com. For more information about Coconuts Comedy Club, visit coconutscomedyclubs.com.
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