Suburban Comedy Club Auctioning Off Memorabilia to Pay Back Loans

A comedy institution is facing serious financial challenges, and as a result the owner is auctioning off thousands of pieces of memorabilia that tell the history of comedy. The Comedy Shrine, located in Aurora’s Fox Valley Mall, seated almost 600 people, and an adjacent museum holds thousand of pieces of comedy memorabilia and collectibles that pay tribute to the history of comedy.   Owner David Sinker says he started collecting a quarter-century ago. “It started off in my home office,” he said. “I jokingly started collecting comedy memorabilia. I jokingly called my office my ‘comedy shrine.’” The 14,000-square foot venue was the third home of the Comedy Shrine. Sinker says he got a Small Business Administration loan to expand the venue in 2019, with a pandemic-delayed opening taking place in May 2021. He was forced to shut down earlier this year after he says his bank held checks from an investor for more than two weeks. The financial difficulties had immediate consequences. “Our actors left, our staff left. It was right after the pandemic and people needed money. I totally understand that,” he said. Now, even though he hasn’t missed a loan payment, he says the bank is forcing him to repay the entire loan.   “I sent a message to the city of Aurora, to the mayors’ office, (asking) ‘is there anything you can do to help?’ Have never heard back from anyone from the mayor’s office,” he said. Sinker also reached out to his congressman with no response. As a result, he’s auctioning off all his memorabilia so he can repay the loan. Some of the items date back to the 1920s, and he says they help to tell the history of comedy performances. The first of the auctions go live on Saturday.

World, Wide, News