San Antonio's Improv Comedy Club at Rivercenter is closed for business. The club located at the Rivercenter Mall has hosted huge comedians and kick-started local careers. It wasn't an easy decision for owner Colleen Barshop.
The club was really special for local comedian Clifton Simmons. "This place has made it possible to fulfill my dreams," he said.
It was more than just a club for this single father.
"This place probably saved my life," he said. "I was out in the streets. I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and this place took me away from experiencing a bad life."
In the 90's, Barshop had a vision to bring live entertainment downtown. "This has been my whole life for the last almost 26 years," she said.
The Improv Comedy Club at Rivercenter has attracted several big names.
"Chris Rock for a week, George Lopez used to play here," she said. "I have a poster of Jeff Dunham and the ticket price was $12, for Jeff Dunham."
Barshop felt it was the right time to unplug the mic. "I have enjoyed it, I loved it," she said. "But lately, it has been getting hard. I like to do other things now."
The businesswoman said the lease on the place was another motivating factor.
"The mall unfortunately hasn't approached us with negotiating a new lease," she said. "So we said this is a good time, our lease is up at the end of the year. It is a good time to just close it."
She said she felt very blessed she was able to help bring laughter downtown.
"More than anything, I feel very blessed to give people jobs. That meant a lot to me," Barshop said.
Barshop still partly owns the Laugh Out Loud comedy club off 410 and Blanco Road. However, she will not be a part of the daily operations. Now, that she is retired, the first thing she plans to do is take a trip to Africa.