Craft Heads banking on comedy festival to help fund move to Erie Street

Patrons enjoying a drink at Craft Heads Brewing Company. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Craft Heads Brewing Company is hoping the return of the Brewing for Comedy Festival can be the "lifeline" it needs to support its move out of the city's core.

Back in June, Craft Heads, a fixture of downtown Windsor for the past 10 years, announced plans to move out of its current location on Pelissier Street and University Avenue.

According to Craft Heads co-owner, Bryan Datoc, the production portion of his brewery has been moved to a new location on Erie Street.

For now, the Craft Heads taproom and the Windsor Comedy Club, which has been running shows out of the downtown brewery, is staying put until more funding can be generated.

To do that, Craft Heads is relying on the return of the Brewing for Comedy Festival. The inaugural edition took place in 2023.

"It's an opportunity for us to get some help from the people that we've helped support throughout the last nine years," said Datoc.

According to Isaac Mulder, owner of the Windsor Comedy Club, the comedy scene in Windsor was "kind of dull" just before the pandemic.

"After the pandemic, we had a crazy turnout. We had more people than ever before. Every comic got better a lot quicker because we had more shows going on and there were a lot more comics coming out of the woodwork."

The second Brewing for Comedy Festival kicks off Aug. 20 and features 17 different shows.

"We're fundraising so we can make a big move from downtown to Erie Street," said Mulder.

"We need everybody to come and support us so we can build a perfect club and help improve the arts' culture here in Windsor."

Paul Montanier, director of the Brewing for Comedy Festival, has been doing comedy for nearly a decade.

He said audiences were able to immerse themselves in stand-up comedy during the pandemic.

"People started listening to more podcasts and people became more of a fan of the art form. When people came back, they were ready to go out and we were here."

According to Datoc, the cost of moving the business to Erie Street is quickly adding up.

"Because of the amount of capacity that we would like, we have to add eight or nine new washrooms to a shell of a building. So that requires a lot of plumbing, framing and electrical as well," said Datoc.

"We're right in the middle of getting the last of the architectural drawings done. Hopefully, we can start construction in the next week or so."

Comedy shows have been taking place at Craft Heads since 2015, but the Windsor Comedy Club did not open until 2023.