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Funny Farm gets new home in West Middlesex
WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. — The Funny Farm has moved again, this time to the Radisson Inn at 3377 New Castle Road, right off Interstate 80 at the West Middlesex exit.
The comedy club, which has been a fixture in the Mahoning Valley for two decades, will have its grand opening Friday at its new location, with comedian Frank Vignola, who is a regular on the “Bill Maher Show” and on Comedy Central specials.
The club decided to leave its old location at 5580 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles (across from Eastwood Mall on Route 422), because of differences with its landlord. The Niles location has been closed for about four weeks.
The management hasn’t changed: Chris Jackson is still the owner and Eric Stevens in charge of entertainment.
Stevens said the new location will remind people of the old days of the Funny Farm, when it was in the former Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Liberty. The new location is adjacent to JW’s nightclub at the Radisson, similar to how it was adjacent to Choices nightclub at the MetroPlex.
The Funny Farm occupies the former Crystal Steakhouse restaurant, which has been modified to become a 90- to 100-seat comedy club. It’s a bit smaller than the Niles location, which held about 145, but is intimate, said Stevens. The phone number is still the same for now — (330) 652-4242 — and patrons can also call (330) 872-4410, which is a temporary number, for entertainment updates. The main number will be changed to a (724) exchange in the near future.
Booking is being handled by Ron and Mark Riccadonna, former Brookfield residents. Mark Riccadonna, now of New York, is a comedian who frequently performed at the Funny Farm.
“We will be getting national acts,” said Stevens, who mentioned Andrew Dice Clay as a possibility this fall.
The new location is the third the club has occupied in the past two years. It was forced to leave the MetroPlex in late 2007 after the hotel changed hands and the new owner scaled back operations. It opened in April 2008 at the Niles location. Jackson and Stevens took over the club from former owner Dave Robisch earlier this year.
Stevens said that several members of upper management at the Radisson came from similar positions at the MetroPlex. Stevens is also an alumnus of the MetroPlex, where he was a manager at Choices.
He will DJ at JW’s on Thursdays and Fridays; the club has live music on Saturdays.
The soon-to-open Funny Farm has received an “overwhelming” reception by the Hermitage community, said Stevens. The club will be open on Fridays and Saturdays for now, but might expand programming in the future.
Stevens said the Funny Farm has a loyal customer base in the Youngstown-Warren area, and he wants them to give the new site a try. “The new location is only a 10-minute drive away,” he said.
The Radisson Inn, which has a heated indoor pool, offers getaway packages that pair a room with entertainment at its clubs, said Stevens.