Sandman Comedy Club to hold last stand-up show, relaunch as casino bar in same Richmond location
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The owners of a beloved comedy club in the heart of downtown Richmond are preparing for the venue’s last laugh as they get ready to relaunch with a very different kind of bar and restaurant.
“Comedy has been a big part of our life. We love comedy,” Sandman Comedy Club owner Michael Sands said. “To let the comedy part go… that hurts.”
Sands told 8News his first date with his now-wife and business partner, Carrie, was at Comedy on State in Wisconsin. The pair will have been married for 33 years later this month.
The Sandman Comedy Club has been in operation for a little over two years, and in that time, a number of high-profile guests have performed on its stage — including the likes of Shane Gillis, Sam Morril and Bobcat Goldthwait.
Construction within the club began in January 2020 with plans to open in May of that same year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Sands to delay the opening until April 2021 — even then, there were restrictions.
“Unfortunately, we were just never able to get over the hump of getting enough people in here to keep it profitable,” Sands said. “I love our loyal customers, they’re the best… I just wish we had more of them.”
The final show at Sandman Comedy Club will be on Sunday, June 25. Sands says that anyone with tickets for future shows that were scheduled for after the comedy club’s closing will have refunds automatically returned to their accounts.
“I’m hoping that the very last weekend, there’ll be a tick up where people say ‘let’s go do it, one last time,'” Sands said. “But I don’t want that to be the goodbye forever because we’re not closing, we’re pivoting.”
The future plans for Sandman
Sands told 8News that although he ultimately came to the decision to close the comedy club, his affection for the community made him want to keep the space. Instead of closing and selling, Sands decided he would take the bar and restaurant in an all-new direction.
“Everybody in the community that we’ve worked with has been awesome. That’s why we’re staying in this venue … We like being in downtown Richmond and we like the people in Richmond,” Sands said. “I wanted to do activities where we could get people to come in and spend a little more time — activities that they can do together as a group.”
The new Sandman Casino Bar will have five pool tables, two beer pong tables, six to eight Queen machines, live Keno through Virginia Lottery, two dart machines and eight Texas hold ’em poker tables.
With all of these games and features will come regularly scheduled leagues and tournaments for pool, darts and poker. There will also be poker classes held at the venue for those interested in learning.
“It’s a really cool venue and when we decided we needed to pivot and do something, we thought about it for a long time,” Sands said. “If you look at the stuff that’s in downtown Richmond, nobody has any of the things we’re doing. Or, if they do have it, they don’t have it on the level that we’re going to have it.”
The new Sandman will also feature new couches, chairs and bar seating as the space moves away from its stage-centric layout. It will also soon be the first place in Virginia to have an automated cocktail maker.
Sands says he is aiming to open the Sandman Casino Bar on Sunday, Aug. 2. When it first opens, its hours will be Wednesday through Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight, with weekend hours from noon to midnight.