Bonkerz Comedy Club - Orlando

Bonkerz Comedy Club - Orlando inside Boardwalk Bowl brings in hilarious comics from TV & the movies every Fri at 8pm & Sat at 7 & 9:30pm! A full liquor bar & food menu is available. Bonkerz History begins way, way back in 1984, when Joe Sanfelippo, along with his brother John and “other brother” George Maltezos were running a 15,000 square foot live music venue and dance club called Papagaio, in their home town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was an extremely demanding business. Between 10 am band load-ins and 4 am closings on every Friday and Saturday, they had to turn their office into virtual dorm room with pullout couches and a full bathroom just to get a few hours of sleep between shows.

Add into the mix, the normal operation of a 6 night per week nightclub and it was a commitment that took all three of them to keep. Wanting to expand their business, Joe, John and George were looking for ways to grow without hurting the good thing they already had going.

The answer came unexpectedly a year later. A friend who was a rock promoter came in with an off-the- wall-idea. There was this substitute host on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson who was an up-and-coming comedy star. You could book him and get plugged on Carson, which would assure a huge crowd for the show. We agreed to the date, got the plug and sold out 4 shows in advance the next day.

Original Bonkerz Comedy Club Sign - Bonkerz History
Original Bonkerz Comedy Club Sign

As a live music promoter I wa

Bonkerz Comedy Club - Orlando inside Boardwalk Bowl brings in hilarious comics from TV & the movies every Fri at 8pm & Sat at 7 & 9:30pm! A full liquor bar & food menu is available.