Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Empire Biscuit is hosting its first-ever comedy festival this August



Via the EVG inbox...

How long have you been waiting to read a press release combining the worlds of stand-up comedy AND biscuits? Because your wait is over. The inaugural Empire Biscuit Comedy Festival (EBCF) will be held in the Lower East Side biscuit restaurant Empire Biscuit (Gothamist’s Top 10 24-Hour Restaurants In NYC), 198 Avenue A between 12th and 13th, on Sunday, August 2 to Tuesday, August 4, 2015.

This year’s performers include Mike Lawrence, Nick Vatterott, Sasheer Zamata, Christian Finnegan, Hasan Minhaj and more. The 2015 festival will be held entirely at Empire Biscuit, which will host 9 shows with over 50 of New York City’s top comedians who have appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, @midnight, CONAN, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, and more. In addition audience members will receive a free premium biscuit and a beverage with their ticket purchase — $14 online or $16 at the door. A festival pass is also available for $50, which includes admittance to all of the festival shows with a biscuit and beverage per night.

“The Empire Biscuit Comedy Festival is unique in that it features performances by stand-up comedians who normally perform in theaters and comedy clubs across the country, in an intimate 30-seat biscuit shop,” says festival co-producer Tovah Silbermann (Forever Dog Productions). “Also, hosting a festival in a biscuit shop is really funny.” EBCF is also co-produced by stand-up comedians Andrew Tavin (The Peoples Improv Theater) and Brandon Scott Wolf (freelance contributor to SNL's Weekend Update, DateBrandonScottWolf.com).

Go here for tickets and info.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will they draw inspiration from their botched opening, ridiculous marketing, and Perma Grin's mustache?!?!

JAZ said...

I'm holding out for the Fro-Yo Summer Jam

Anonymous said...

I don't know if they can top off the way they Kickstarted and PRd this joint since that was a joke.

Will there be security guards doing crowd control? since, gosh, the line will be long snaking around the block.

Will the ladies get in for free? or at least a discount?

Having a beard and a grin? Comp or discounted too?

As the Biscuits Turn

Zoltar said...

A lot of agents are about to get fired.

Anonymous said...

The opening sentences:

"How long have you been waiting to read a press release combining the worlds of stand-up comedy AND biscuits? Because your wait is over."

Holy shit.

Anonymous said...

Empire Biscuit: show some goodwill and donate some of the proceeds to B&H and Stage.

Not Douglas Elliman said...

Do you have a mouth? How long have you been waiting to put something in it comma like a biscuit while listening to the comedy? Your wait is over end user!

If you are a demographic that likes to use your mouth to east or laugh come to the Last Annual Empire Biscuit Comedy Festival (LAEBCF).

Not zoned as a performance space please join us for a show in a tightly packed and overheated room while eating a crumbling sandwich from the convenience of your lap.

See you soon New Yorkers!

Anonymous said...

This sounds like fun. I have seen comedy in laundromats and other weird places, but could someone from Empire give more details on how this works? Will there be seating? How many people can attend each show? Their space is so tiny.

John said...

They've got so much extra space in there: EMPIRE BISCUIT MAIN STAGE.

This week, Comedy Festival.
Next week, a touring production of Cats.
After that, Monster Truck Rally.

Anonymous said...

Not looking forward to people waiting on the sidewalk for the shows. Hope they keep a lid on the noise- especially 11pm shows. And PLEASE DON'T GIVE THE COMICS A MICROPHONE IN THAT CLOSET OF A SPACE.

Anonymous said...

With the rising rents, we can expect more culture like this! Banks offering sleep in after hours in their ATM lobby, with towel service; laundries turned into pop-up bakeries (you gotta do something with all that heat, so we'll make dri-cooled fluff puffs and pitch it as artisanal); and of course the huge amount of downtime for all those chain pharmacies can be marshaled to serve as after hours day care centers and senior hospice pit stops (the near proximity of baby wipes along would be a bonus to these drop offs).

Really, the possibilities are limitless. But since we only have a limited amount of real estate, make the best of it.

We're working on the next big real estate wave and it's happening now!

-- a public service announcement from Ben "The Sledghammer" Shaoul, offering a bit of smart real estate advice to the lowly

Anonymous said...

What do you think is in the biscuits?!?!?!

Anonymous said...

It'll be funny(ier) if Liz Flock were to do stand-up there.

Piss + Vinegar -- the new fad $22 cocktail to be served in the new trendeatery soon to open in a block near you.

You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar; with vinegar, you catch biscuitologists and their ladies!

Anonymous said...

I regretfully report Wakka Flocka Killah was attacked by a corpse in the Ganges river. It mistook her boogie board for a seal.

Anonymous said...

They are one of our best examples of a successful restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol so let's support them in the spirit of not every single freaking place has to serve alcohol to turn a profit.

But a doorman is a good idea, I hope they think of it.

Also I think the mustache guy is gone.

Sara Lee said...


...so when they finished I asked the naked family covered in filth behind the counter what they called those bloody, brown biscuits covered with sticky white goo? and they answered, "The Aristocrats." Thank you, thank you we'll be here all week don't forget to leave a tip it takes a lotta dough to make a biscuit.

paddy523 said...

And here I thought the biscuits were the joke!!!

Anonymous said...

"successful" sure, because it's funded by mommy and daddy making it seem like it is a "success".

Anonymous said...

Nine shows, three nights, zero interest.

Anonymous said...

My cats are doing standup in our shower stall right now if anyone's interested. No biscuits but all the Sour Patch Kids you can eat.

Anonymous said...

Are we laughing with them or at them? Biscuits lol.

Anonymous said...

If the comedians suck, is the audience allowed to pelt them with biscuits?