By Mary Colurso | mcolurso@al.com
Bruce Ayers, owner of The Comedy Club Stardome in Hoover, is retiring from the business he founded about 42 years ago.
Ayers, a beloved figure on Birmingham’s entertainment scene, announced his retirement Tuesday morning via social media, telling fans the venue at 1818 Data Drive has been sold.
“I am stepping into retirement with deep gratitude,” Ayers, who’s in his 70s, said in posts on the Stardome’s Facebook and Instagram.
“This was never just a business. It was a family commitment.
“Since 1984, I have been blessed to share this journey with my wife, CheChe, and my daughters Gina Zimmerman, Dena Dow, Sheena Ayers (deceased) and my son-in-law Rodney Zimmerman,” Ayers said. “Together, we worked side by side through long nights, challenges, rebuilds and countless unforgettable moments.
“Beyond our family, hundreds of employees over the years became part of our extended family — servers, bartenders, cooks, hosts, technicians, managers and staff who showed up night after night and helped create something special. Their dedication, loyalty and pride in this place made The Stardome what it is today.
“We were blessed to work with the best performers in the business, and serve as a stage that superstar comedians like Sinbad, Steve Harvey, James Gregory, Rickey Smiley, Rodney Carrington and so many others could always call home,” Ayers said.
Ayers ended his farewell message this way: “To our audiences, our employees past and present, and everyone who walked through our doors: thank you for turning a venue into a home and a lifetime of work into a lasting legacy. I leave this chapter with humility, pride and gratitude.”
New Owners
Although he didn’t mention the new owners by name in his posts, Ayers told WBRC-TV’s “Good Day Alabama” that Helium Comedy Clubs, a company based in Philadelphia, bought the business.
“I have all the faith in the world in them,” Ayers said in a Tuesday morning interview on the FOX affiliate. “They’re awesome. … They have 10 other clubs. These guys are great, and we’ll still be the Stardome.”
Ayers echoed that sentiment in his social media posts, saying “It is my sincere hope that the new owners will honor what has been built here and continue the legacy of laughter, integrity and world-class entertainment.”
Ayers has been a key figure in Birmingham’s entertainment world since 1983, when he founded a 200-seat comedy club at the old Tara House motel in Homewood. The venue’s popularity grew slowly, but was ignited in 1985 when Sinbad, then an up-and-coming comedian, took the stage.
“The crowd went absolutely nuts,” Ayers said in a 1998 interview with Bob Carlton of The Birmingham News. “It was the first bit of electricity that ever happened. Everybody started talking about this Sinbad guy.”
Ayers’ business, then called The Comedy Club, changed locations a few times, endured a catastrophic fire during a blizzard in March 1993, and moved to Hoover’s Data Drive six months later, adding the word Stardome to its name.
“There were a lot of times where we could have just said to heck with it and closed,” Ayers said in 1998, as The Comedy Club Stardome celebrated its 15th anniversary. “But I always believed in this whole thing.”
Launched Comedic Giants
Over the decades, Ayers has presented a long list of established stars at his venues and helped to launch the careers of talented newcomers who went on to become big names. His stages have seen performances by Carrot Top, Chris Rock, Tim Allen, Richard Belzer, Jeff Foxworthy, Roy Wood Jr., Bobcat Goldthwait, Pete Davidson, Tommy Chong, Dennis Miller, Paul Reiser, Rita Rudner, Pauly Shore, Craig Ferguson, George Wallace, Matt Mathews and many more.
Celebrities have praised Ayers’ venues, as well, including the late James Gregory.
“I don’t think the people who live in Birmingham really comprehend what they have there when it comes to comedy clubs,” Gregory told The Birmingham News in 1998. “Most people assume the best comedy clubs are in Boston, New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. And there’s no other comedy club in the country that can top Birmingham. None.”
There’s no word yet on a celebration or farewell party for Ayers at The Comedy Club Stardome, but the venue’s calendar for 2026 includes shows by Emo Philips, D.L. Hughley, Trae Crowder, Akaash Singh, Michael Rowland, Jeff Allen, Learnmore Jonasi and more.
Here’s a timeline for The Comedy Club and The Comedy Club Stardome:
Oct. 18, 1983. The original Comedy Club opens in the old Tara House motel in Homewood. Mike McDonald is the opening night headliner.
Dec. 12, 1985. The Comedy Club moves to a new location in The Village on Green Springs shopping center. It’s owner Bruce Ayers’ 36th birthday. “This is the 11th club I’ve opened,” Ayers says. “But this is the first time I’ve had a chance to build one from the ground up.”
March 13, 1993. The Comedy Club burns to the ground in an early-morning fire during the ’93 snowstorm. Almost everything in the club is destroyed, and Carrot Top, who was scheduled to perform that weekend, loses all of his props in the fire. A firefighter hands Ayers the smoldering contents of a safe that survived the fire. “So this is the Comedy Club?” the firefighter asks. “This was the Comedy Club,” Ayers says.
May 13, 1993. Two months after the fire, the Comedy Club moves into a temporary space in the Sheraton Perimeter Park hotel on U.S. 280. Ayers continues to look for a new home for the club.
Sept. 21, 1993. The Comedy Club celebrates its grand reopening in the Stardome in Hoover. The swanky, 400-seat nightclub was originally the home of Carnegie’s Dinner Theater. “This is going to make one of the really beautiful comedy clubs in the land,” headliner Larry Miller says. “I’m glad to be here.”
Jan. 13, 2026. Bruce Ayers announces his retirement from The Comedy Club Stardome after more than four decades at the helm of the business. “I leave this chapter with humility, pride and gratitude,” Ayers says on social media. During a TV interview, Ayers says Helium Comedy Clubs, a company based in Philadelphia, bought the club but will keep its name.
