The Comedy Fort — Restaurant in Fort Collins

Rowdy spot. I'm glad that the area has a comedy club now, but I was at a show with my wife and some friends on Feb. 20th and the show was interrupted a few times by multiple tables starting with the very first act. One table was particularly noisy and looked like the owner was talking to them about not heckling, but even though they interrupted every act, they didn't ask them to leave until the last comedian was almost finished.

The table directly in front of me, was also heckling, but not all the time. They were mainly just speaking loudly between themselves, but one of them would take notice and loudly shoosh the other people in his party. The show was almost over, so I was happy to leave, but a woman next to me got out of her seat, took a couple steps forward and asked the table to be quiet. The table started bickering loudly between themselves and I could see the escalation begin. I'm a tall man, but a nerd, so I try to avoid conflict at all costs, but I was hoping to deescalate the situation, so I leaned forward from my table, raised one hand and said, "I agree". The "brawny" man(that's what one of the comics called him when he was interrupting earlier) said, "I'm going to fight this guy" and started to take off his coat. So I left.

I've been to many comedy clubs and I have never realized how important security is. There was no security on staff(covid I get it), but I don't think I'm going to be back to comedy clubs until they can provide security and throw out hecklers immediately so that people in the crowd don't have to try to maintain...

Initially I was salty that Hodi's had closed down and was replaced by a comedy club, as I had never given comedy a chance and was distressed to see my favorite local music venue go down. HOWEVER, after attending a couple of events here I learned that I actually really* like stand-up comedy.

The venue has been transformed from the ketamine, crystal-slinging, heady-market it once was to a refined, upscale, yet homely comedy club that has obviously had a lot of passion behind it. The bar area is clean with lots of seating options, the drinks are ~cheap with a wide selection (including NA options), and they provide the opportunity to order food from the next door BBQ joint. The stage area is also well organized with, again, lots of seating options, great lightning that exudes patio 'vibes', and a nice QR code ordering system. Notably, the drink service is REALLY FAST. Really fast. The staff has also been great with lots of friendly faces and awesome service all around. Bathrooms are clean.

The first shows I attended here both included Sam Tallent in the line-up. He is awesome, would highly recommend attending any shows he appears at. Though the rest of the line ups/performers have been fun with ample variety and eccentric characters. The hosts are charismatic and keep the attitude light.

Try it out! The place still smells of freshly cut lumber, go before that...

Why did I give the Comedy Fort a one-star review? For people like you who rely on qualitative data rather than quantitative data when they make decisions. It's not enough for you to see that The Comedy Fort has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating, you really want to dig into those one-star, horror story reviews so you can really tell if this venue is for you. I totally appreciate that.

However, I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you. I've been to The Comedy Fort nearing 10 times now since they have opened and every time the experience has been a joy. The comedy is VERY well curated (no edge lords, no punching down, always funny), the staff is always friendly, the drinks are good, and it's just a really well-run operation. They also have a very generous cancellation policy, which is handy when you're bringing a large group.

Everything I've heard from people who are in or adjacent to the comedy world have also been extremely positive around how they treat the performers and the staff.

In short, I can leave a one-star review just to assure YOU that attending a show at The Comedy Fort is a good idea because so many other people have done that with their five-star reviews that one more "bad" review isn't going to move the needle.

What are you waiting for? Go buy...