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Old spaces get new life in Ybor
Improv Comedy Theater offers nationally known talent and outdoor cafe dining; Fun's got wide open spaces for live music, computers with Internet access and Sony PlayStation 2s.
By MICHAEL CANNING
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 4, 2001
After the October opening of the Centro Ybor complex brought a rash of new buildings to Ybor City, new businesses are again opening in old buildings in the historic district.
One of them, the Improv Comedy Theater, is the only part of Centro (1600 E Eighth Ave.) that occupies a historic building, the 1912 Centro Espanol building. The other, a nightclub called Fun at 1507 E Seventh Ave., occupies the 1918 W.T. Grant building, which was more recently the Rubb nightclub.
The Improv will have a "soft opening" Friday and Saturday with comedian John Morgan at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday. Its grand opening will be Jan. 11, when comedian John Pinette (Seinfeld, A&E's Evening at the Improv) begins a one-week stint.
Fun opened Dec. 29 and continues its location's recent history as an outsized nightclub and live music venue. The Rubb closed in July 1999 after four years as Ybor's epicenter of eclectic music programming and post-modern atmosphere. Fun utilizes all of its predecessor's two stories and 13,000 square feet of space.
One aspect where Fun departs from the Rubb is an increased use of VIP space. Part of the second floor, which is accessible with a VIP elevator, is dedicated as the VIP-only Marvin Lounge. The glassed-in mezzanine guest box that gave Rubb patrons a choice view of the ground floor's dance floor and its stage remains VIP and is now dubbed the SuperBox.
A hydraulic lift has been added to the ground floor and will be used to elevate dancers, DJs, musicians or other featured performers 30 feet into the air. The greens, blues and yellows that dominated the Rubb's futuro-graphics wall murals have been replaced with reds and blues. That is, wherever a video screen isn't mounted. Seven projection screens will show footage from numerous surveillance cameras fixed at several points around the club or carried by club's staffers.
There will also be computers with Internet access, and Sony PlayStation 2s available for use. Fun's regular hours are 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
The club is the brainchild of Robert Solomon and Frank Muller, New York City nightclub owners who opened the first Fun there under the Manhattan Bridge early in 2000.
The 500-seat Improve, in Centro Ybor, is also outsized for its genre. Occupying the theater portion of the former Centro Espanol mutual aid society building, the Improv is grander than today's typical comedy clubs. In fact, it's the largest in the New York City-based Improv's 10-club chain.
"It's a lot more than what we would do on a norm," said Improv manager Todd Leinenbach, "but then again we are kind of not in the strip mall sense like we used to be in the '80s. Now any club, just like this one, is normally over a million-dollar investment. And it's designed for a long-term stay with full-service kitchen, a chef, everything."
Leinenbach added that the industry's evolution toward nicer and larger venues also serves to attract larger acts.
The Improv is poised to do just that, with separate bars, first and second floor outdoor cafe dining that can accommodate another 150 patrons, and a full menu that boasts prime rib, veal parmesan, chicken wings, sandwiches, pizza, salads, soups and buffets.
Showtimes at the Improv are 8 p.m. Sundays and weeknights, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Fridays, 7 and 9:30 p.m. and midnight Saturdays. Non-smoking nights are 8 p.m. Wednesdays. Jan. 15-21 will feature Ron Ramey; Jan. 23-28, Adam Ferrara; and Jan. 30-Feb. 4, Amazing Jonathan.
Feb. 7, Jackie Mason will begin a two-week run Wednesdays through Sundays 7 p.m. only, followed by hypnotist/mentalist Raven at 9 p.m. Future bookings include Brett Butler, Jim Breuer (a former Palm Harbor resident), Tommy Davidson, Rita Rudner, Pauly Shore and Carlos Mencia.
Call Fun at (813) 247-6234, and the Improv at (813) 864-4000.
- Michael Canning can be reached at (813) 226-3408, or at canning@sptimes.com.
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