May 1—It's no joke; the owner of the downtown 3E's Comedy Club plans to expand his entertainment concept to the fast-growing InterQuest area in northern Colorado Springs.

Eric Phillips has targeted an August or September opening for the 3E's Comedy Club North, as it would be called. It would occupy 7,700 square feet on the second floor of a two-story retail building immediately east of the Icon Cinemas movie theater complex at the Victory Ridge development, southeast of InterQuest and Voyager parkways.

As part of the expansion, Phillips said he also plans to launch Crispy Bacon, a breakfast and lunch restaurant whose name reflects one of his favorite foods. The restaurant's menu isn't set, but would serve omelets and breakfast fare, along with sandwiches and other lunch items, he said.

The restaurant will stand on its own, though having it as part of the larger venue — a trend in the comedy club industry — will help keep people coming in the door daily instead of just on weekends for shows, Phillips said.

"It's a great concept," he said. "Breakfast in the morning doesn't interfere (with shows). We're not trying to do dinner. We'll just have breakfast there and lunch."

The Crispy Bacon restaurant would have 50 to 60 seats, while the comedy club at Victory Ridge would accommodate about 175 people, Phillips said. His downtown 3E's Comedy Club at 1 S. Nevada Ave. can seat 136 people at the venue's Hecklers Café & Lounge and about 200 for shows, he said.

A second location at Victory Ridge would attract residents from the city's north side, the Tri-Lakes communities north of the Springs and even as far away as Castle Rock, Phillips said, adding that he's confident a second 3E's wouldn't take away business from the downtown venue.

Victory Ridge is one of four mixed-used developments in the InterQuest area, east of Interstate 25 and InterQuest Parkway and arguably the Springs' hottest commercial hub.

The area is home to restaurants, stores, hotels, apartments, a water park and major employers and institutions, such as the Ent Credit Union headquarters, In-N-Out Burger's production and distribution plant, New Life Church, and Pikes Peak State College. The 72-bed St. Francis-Interquest Hospital is scheduled to open in the area in July; a few miles farther north, the 8,000-seat outdoor Sunset amphitheater is targeted to open in 2024 at the Polaris Pointe development.

Retail follows rooftops, as the saying goes, and thousands of people live in Northgate, Flying Horse Ranch, Briargate and other north-side residential areas.

"There's different people up there than downtown," Phillips said. "We're kind of a destination, but people from InterQuest won't come downtown for the most part. Being up north, we'll reach Monument and Castle Rock. It's a great location...right on the side of the Icon movie theater."

Still, are there enough comedians and laughs in the Colorado Springs area for two 3E's Comedy Clubs? Phillips thinks so; other cities have multiple comedy venues and support them, he said. Colorado Springs also is home to Loonies Comedy Corner, a longtime venue at 1305 N. Academy Blvd.

"We're still growing," Phillips said. "And again, downtown is different than up north. This will give us more visibility in the city itself. This will give us more maneuvering power in the comedy industry as far as booking people. I think it's good all the way around for the city and for the club itself."

Phillips sought to launch 3E's — named for himself and two sons — in 2020, but said the club didn't take off until 2022 because of COVID-19 pandemic delays. He conceded the club struggled financially to start, but said social media posts by third parties that suggested 3 E's was poised to fold in early 2022 were exaggerated.

"Our business plan got thrown out the door," Phillips said. "You try to open a club, and the rent is due, and you have five people in the showroom. You just kind of make your way. You're not making any money for ... 2020, 2021. But it wasn't a situation where we were going to close that day. But that's how it was put out, like, oh we're going to close, like, tomorrow. That wasn't the case. We slowly came back from that and kept building a crowd and the brand."

His lease on his downtown location has two years to run, Phillips said. When it ends, he said he wants to keep the original club downtown, but ideally would like to purchase his own building and move the venue there.

In the meantime, he said he's signed a five-year lease for his space at Victory Ridge.

"With all the growth in the northern corridor, we've seen that that area has become the adult playground that Colorado Springs has been needing for so long," said Creed Spillane, the managing broker of Quantum Residential Group in the Springs and who marketed the Victory Ridge space leased by Phillips. "Naturally, having a comedy venue would be a great complement to the other services that are there. Frankly, we don't have that up there."