East Brunswick Resident Opens New NJ Comedy Club

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Owning a comedy club is not new to Butch Seltzer. After a stint at running one in Sayreville, the East Brunswick resident opened his newest venture in East Windsor on Friday, Jan. 3.

The Prime Time Comedy Club, located at the Americana Kitchen & Bar in East Windsor promises to bring the funny back to the Garden State.

The idea for the comedy club came about during an East Brunswick High School reunion. Seltzer was the chairperson for the reunion for the class of ‘84 and was looking for a location to host their 40th gathering.

The group zeroed in on the Americana Kitchen & Bar, owned by another high school alumni, Constantine Katsifis.

“We had our reunion about 45 days ago, and while there, I saw this amazing empty room. Constantine told me they didn’t use the room much and I suggested opening a comedy club. He agreed. We had three weeks until the official opening on Friday, and we did it,” recalls Seltzer.

A soft launch was held in November that saw around 80 to 90 guests in attendance. Seltzer then took December off to plan the official launch in January.

“There's just so much going on in December with the holidays. People are stressed with shopping, there are holiday parties, and cooking to do. So, we thought to start on the Friday after New Year's Day,”

Two New York comics took the stage on Jan. 3 — Teddy Smith and Laura Patton. And by all accounts the show was a hit. "We had an absolutely great show. People had fun,” Seltzer said.

Back in 2006, Seltzer opened a comedy club in Sayreville with his brother Kevin. “It was a 425-seat theatre and some of the biggest names in comedy like Jim Breuer, Andrew Dice Clay, Colin Quinn and Artie Lang played for us,” Seltzer said.

With the untimely passing of his brother, the venture came to a stop after his sister-in-law decided to turn the venue into a nightclub.

“I wanted to honor my brother Kevin by calling the comedy club “Prime Time,” because that’s what he called it,” Seltzer said.

The entrepreneur also pays tribute to his brother in every show. The bottom of every Prime Time Comedy Club flyer contains the line “All shows are in memory of Kevin Seltzer. He loved to laugh his a** off.”

Seltzer is currently the Vice president of Development and National Tours at the Laughter Saves Lives Foundation. Their mission is to provide assistance to first responders trying to overcome financial hardship due to an unforeseen tragedy or illness.

The organization also produces comedy shows dedicated to first responder who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. And this has only further honed his experience in organizing shows.

Seltzer now plans to dedicate his time to the new comedy club. “It’s fun but a lot of hard work. I’m currently handling everything – booking the comics, and doing the advertising. So, there’s a lot of juggling,” Seltzer said.

The Prime Time Comedy Club has a packed schedule. They have shows every Friday until May 2025. The roster includes a diverse line-up of standup comedians like Danny Calabrese, Pranav Behari, Billy Garan, Mike Gaffney, Eric Haft, and Fred Rubino.

The upcoming show on Jan. 10 is a special one. The show will honor the local first responders and firefighters, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to them. First responders and firefighters will also get discounted tickets.

And if the first week is any indication, the comedy club is off to a great start. “We are getting a lot of phone calls. Eventually, we will do benefit shows on Sundays. If anybody needs to do a show for an organization, we will help them with that,” Seltzer said.

“I am hoping to eventually add Saturdays to our schedule as well.”

If you want to beat the winter blues, head to the Prime Time Comedy Club in East Windsor every Friday for some hearty laughs.

And there is a special offer for Patch readers. Attendees who mention “Patch” while purchasing their tickets will get a $5 discount. The offer is valid through February. For more details, visit their website.

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