The publisher of a satirical quarterly is determined to bring the laughs to South Philly

What happens when the publisher of a satirical newspaper wants to stop publishing his “silly” quarterly?

He opens a comedy club.

This isn’t a joke. It’s the story of Reid Benditt, creator of the Philadelphia Jabroni, which he will now put on a hiatus to focus on running Claude’s Comedy Club & Bar, which opened last month.

Benditt, 43, has spent years of producing comedy shows behind the scenes. He hopes the South Philly venue, at 1123 S. Broad St., will become a premier destination for emerging acts to build their names, and for touring comics to engage with a wider range of fans.

“We’re kind of like the ‘Adult Swim’ brand of comedy,” Benditt said.

Many rising stand-ups, he said, are reduced to backrooms at Philly dive bars and restaurants, where the crowd is more interested in clearing their plates and drink tabs than they are in comedy. Few, if any, venues are dedicated to rising comics on a nightly basis, Benditt said, which forces early-career comics to test their skills in larger entertainment markets before they’re ready.

“Philly is a really underserved city as far as the number of [comedy] clubs,” he said. “I think it’s saying something when we only have a handful of clubs, and we have all this great talent around.”

The clubs are even fewer in South Philly, where Benditt said Claude’s comes in.

Just under South Broad Street’s United Check Cashing marquee stands Claude’s doors. Visitors are immediately transported to a dimly-lit, subterranean space that’s reminiscent of legendary clubs like New York City’s Comedy Cellar. There are low ceilings, intimate lighting, and an audience that’s fully invested in local comedy.

Down the steps is a full-scale bar, fashioned with lush seating, and a drink menu filled with spirits and nonalcoholic options. The food menu offers small bites like specialty hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, dill pickle plates, and Tastykake flights garnished with small puddles of whipped cream.

To the right of the bar are the doors to Claude’s 100-person show space. Cushioned sheets rest on its perimeter, while small table sets are positioned toward the illuminated stage, with the Claude’s logo serving as the backdrop.

It’s where rising comics can bring their mangled notebooks on stage to test new material, and where touring acts can drop in to perform outside of the city’s long-running venues.

In less than a month, the club has drawn the kind of talent and crowd Benditt envisioned two years ago when he decided to transform the former thrift store into a comedy hub.

Comics like Carmen Lynch, KC Shornima, and Lukas McCrary have headlined at Claude’s, their signatures gracing the club’s green room walls. Other comedians have participated in open mic nights, pun comedy showcases, and other themed events. Benditt also plans to establish programming for Philly’s robust clown community.

While he’s spent the majority of his career as an event coordinator at Union Transfer and Electric Factory, Benditt has been a part of Philly’s comedy scene for more than a decade.

After taking an improv class in 2013, he began performing stand-up with the collective Laughs on Philly. In 2019, he helped organize the Whiz City Comedy Festival, a two-day, three-venue event on South Street. But he knew, even then, being a performer wasn’t in the cards.

“Performing was never my thing,” Benditt said. “I’ve done stand-up enough times to know which side of the microphone I belong on, and which side I want to be on.”

He discussed the idea of opening a comedy club among friends, but it wasn’t until late 2020 that his plans were set in motion. He took a small-business class at Temple University and began searching for potential venues.

Benditt looked at spaces in Passyunk and West Passyunk before signing the lease to the lower-level venue in November 2024. He chose the South Broad Street location because of the absence of live comedy venues in the area.

“When you look at the map where the comedy clubs are in the city, it’s easy to see where there’s a void,” he said.

He didn’t reveal the cost of construction but said he poured his life savings into transforming the “raw” cement stage and barren walls into a formidable entertainment destination.

“It was enough, where I had to put my house on the line as an insurance policy,” he said. “I’m going all in.”

Originally, Benditt anticipated an October 2025 opening, but he didn’t account for the mountain of permits required by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. But after securing the final permit needed to operate as a comedy club and sit-in restaurant in June, Benditt’s dream was finally fulfilled.

For the name, Benditt wanted something catchy with a more personal touch.

“Something that gets out of the way and gives performers a spotlight.”

His mother’s name is Claudia, his family affectionally calls her “Claude.” And like his “selfless” mother, who routinely puts others before herself, Benditt is determined to showcase local and national comics, even with his livelihood on the line.

Claude’s Comedy Club & Bar, 1123 S. Broad St. Cellar, Philadelphia. Open everyday 4 p.m. to midnight. instagram.com/claudescomedy