After positive turnout for their first open mic comedy night, Up in Smoke hookah bar has big plans for future entertainment.
“We give people who are over 18 and under 21 a place to come and hang out,” Devin Lattin, co-owner and events coordinator at Up in Smoke said.
He said he hopes the venue itself will attract an audience that otherwise would not come to such shows.
“The bars can’t offer the same atmosphere with the alcohol as their priority focus, whereas we can sell hookah and focus more on the events themselves,” Lattin said.
He said comedy nights will resume after remodeling inside the establishment has been completed.
Lattin said he hopes to compete with other entertainment by offering a more relaxed atmosphere than that of local bars while shifting the stigma of stoner culture away from hookah bars as a whole.
“This is clean, relaxed, cool, and this is something that anyone can get into and have fun,” Lattin said.
Up in Smoke currently functions under a partnership with Char’s regular Tuesday night comedy acts, hoping to gain some new clientele by offering the venue as a casual response to the more organized comedy at next door.
“They’re an established brand, so to speak, and everyone knows what char bar is, when everyone might not know what Up in Smoke is,” Lattin said.
This partnership, which includes serving appetizers from Char and offering free BYOB with alcohol bought at Char, proved mutually beneficial on opening night.
“I enjoyed my personal performance and I felt like it went well and was well-received,” sophomore chemistry major and stand-up participant Shane Jones said.
Jones preformed at the first open mic night. He said the experience was better than previous gigs at comedy clubs.
“They have a good space for it,” he said.
Jones, who performs solo and in two improvisational comedy groups, said he sees the hookah bar as a valuable addition to nightlife in Boone and encourages more venues to follow Up in Smoke’s lead.
“I plan on continuing with this event, and I’m also looking for more venues to do stand-up in order to make it more popularized in Boone,” Jones said.
Freshman biology Jacob Caudill major said the stand-up was “pretty good.”
“It was low key and laid back and some of the people were pretty funny,” he said.
After the remodeling has been completed, open mic comedy night will take place at Up in Smoke every Tuesday night immediately following comedy at Char.
Story: LOVEY COOPER, Intern A&E Reporter