Savannah Schmidt
(Left to right) The Stardome Comedy Club family, including Dena Dow, Che Che Ayers, Bruce Ayers and Gina Zimmerman. The two daughters help their parents maintain the club with their marketing and accounting skills. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
Savannah Schmidt
Bruce Ayers, the owner and founder of the Comedy Club, started his business over 40 years ago. He has since hosted stars like Steve Harvey, Tim Allen and Sinbad. The Stardome in Hoover was the last stop on the club's route to fame. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
Forty-one years ago, Bruce Ayers opened the doors to something the Birmingham area had never seen before: a comedy nightclub. At the time, comedy wasn’t a staple of Southern entertainment. It was unfamiliar, even foreign. But Ayers, inspired by a visit to a club in Atlanta, saw potential in bringing stand-up to his adopted hometown.
“I went in there and I remember seeing all these couples sitting in there and a girl walked by with a tray of frozen drinks and a light room off on my head,” he says.
From that a-ha moment was born The Comedy Club, which opened its doors in 1983 atop a Chinese restaurant in Homewood. It would survive from humble beginnings through tragedy, a devastating fire, a relocation to a venue in Hoover, a name change to become The StarDome, the global pandemic and rapid changes to the industry to become one of the great launching points for comedic talent in the country.
Through it all, it grew into a labor of love for his entire family.
But first, it was simply a matter of learning how to connect locals to the concept of paying to watch people tell jokes. Live, stand-up comedy felt foreign in the heart of Alabama. People knew Joan Rivers, Milton Berle, and a few others who occasionally appeared on The Tonight Show, but the idea of filling an entire evening with unknown comics? It was uncharted territory.
“When I first opened it, nobody knew these comics,” says Ayers, who arrived in the Magic City by way of Missouri after growing up in New Jersey. “Nobody knew any of them that we could get.”
Bruce didn’t have a background in comedy. But he was a skilled promoter and marketer, using the lessons he had gained by launching nightclubs with a college friend in Birmingham during the Saturday Night Fever and Urban Cowboy phases of pop culture in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.
To get people in the door, Bruce leaned on humor right from the start. Outside the small venue, he put up a sign that read: “Joan Rivers — Not Appearing.” It was a wink to those few who recognized the name and an invitation to take a chance on the unknown.
Inside, the space was intimate and unassuming, with makeshift seating and a tiny stage. In those early weeks, the comics came from New York and Los Angeles, armed with material they hoped would resonate.
“They were talking about nothing that relates to our people,” Bruce says of those initial acts. “It wasn’t clicking.”
And then came Sinbad.
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Sinbad poster on the wall of the Stardome in Hoover, AL. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
The First Star
It was November of that first year, and Bruce had brought in a tall, lanky comedian who immediately exuded charm. Sinbad wasn’t a household name yet, but he had the kind of presence that made you want to watch him and that ultimately would make him a TV and movie star. Before his set, Bruce asked Sinbad to give a birthday shoutout to a local friend, Andy Verciglio, whose family owned the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store.
What happened next was pure magic.
“Sinbad goes up there, and somehow he does 30 minutes on Piggly Wiggly,” Bruce recalls. “He’s up there asking, ‘Is there a Mr. Piggly? A Mr. Wiggly?’ It was all off the top of his head, and the crowd went crazy.”
Sinbad didn’t just make them laugh; he connected with them. He riffed on Rich’s department store, cosmetics counters, and other local touchpoints that resonated deeply with the Birmingham audience.
“From that moment on, people were asking, ‘Who is that guy?’” Bruce says. “He became our first star.”
The club’s reputation began to grow, with audiences coming for the experience as much as the acts. “Back in those days, we had to sell you on the club itself,” Bruce says. “It was all about, ‘Come here and have a good time.’”
From Sinbad to Steve Harvey, Ayers saw the rise of talented stars.
Family at the center
As the StarDome grew, so did Bruce’s vision for the club — and for the people who would help him run it. In the late 1980s, Bruce met CheChe, a BellSouth manager who initially came to the club as a guest. Years later, as Bruce was undergoing a divorce, fate brought them together again.
CheChe called the club to book a reservation. Bruce answered the phone.
“When she said her name was CheChe Giglio, I thought, ‘That’s the cutest name I’ve ever heard,’” Bruce says.
“I didn’t remember her from before, so we started a conversation. That night, she shows up with two of her girlfriends. I tried to get her number but she wouldn’t give it to me.”
As CheChe recalls, she turned him down more than once even though she “could tell he was a good guy, a gentleman.” Eventually, no became yes, and then …
“Our first date was just — it just worked out,” CheChe recalls. “From that day, I knew he was the one.”
Three months later she was working at the club. By 1991, the two were married. CheChe, who had spent decades in a corporate role, soon became an integral part of the club’s operations and his partner in the business.
“She started helping me at the club,” Bruce says. “And then she got more and more involved.” Eventually, she left her corporate job to join the StarDome full-time.
But it wasn’t just Bruce and CheChe. Over time, their daughters, Gina Zimmerman and Dena Giglio, found their own places within the business.
“Dad handed me the books and said, ‘You’re in charge of the money now,’” Gina recalls. “So, that’s what I started doing, and then (her nickname) ‘G Money’ came about.”
Dena’s role grew organically, often stepping in wherever she was needed. “Pretty much anything Dad doesn’t want to do, I get to do,” she says with a laugh.
Even Gina’s husband, Rodney Zimmerman, plays a vital role, overseeing the club’s food and beverage operations. “We call ourselves The Five,” Bruce says, referring to the family’s collaborative effort to keep the Stardome running smoothly.
They paused to remember another member of the family. Daughter Sheena Ayers was the club’s sales manager but passed away at age 20 in 2005 from complications related to Cystic Fibrosis.
“Her spirit is here in this place with us,” Bruce says.
Ayers and his family discuss their history as a family as well as club owners.
Love and laughter
The StarDome isn’t just about comedy; it’s about connection. Over the years, the club has become one of Birmingham’s most beloved date spots. For couples just starting their journey or looking to keep the spark alive, the club offers something magical: a shared experience of laughter.
“It’s the perfect date place,” Bruce says. “You sit there, you’re laughing, and you don’t have to say anything. You just connect.”
The club’s reputation as a romantic hotspot was amplified by Bruce’s clever marketing. Before the internet, reservations had to be made by phone, and Bruce capitalized on this with an unforgettable tagline that he used in commercials and in his weekly appearances on local TV and radio shows.
“The number to call when you have a date is 444-0008,” Bruce says. The phrase became iconic, so much so that even years later, people still recite it to him.
“We were at Smith Lake a month ago,” Bruce recalls. “A lady comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Bruce Ayers? I recognize your voice. My husband and I went on our first date at the Stardome because of that number.’”
The StarDome’s romantic legacy extends beyond first dates. In the 1990s, the club partnered with a local radio station to host a mass wedding.
“We married 100 couples on stage,” Bruce says. The event drew massive crowds, and for many, it was a moment they’d never forget.
“People still come up to us and say, ‘We got married at your club,’” CheChe adds. “It’s a special thing to be part of so many love stories.”
The Ayers family discusses the evolution of the marketing efforts including a popular phone hotline. As the world turns digital, so have the club's efforts.
Stars on the rise
The StarDome has been a proving ground for countless comedic talents. The story of Sinbad’s rise remains one of the club’s most iconic, but many others have found their start here as well.
“Jeff Foxworthy’s first paid gig was here at my club,” Bruce recalls. “Ricky Smiley, Roy Wood Jr .— we started them, or we supported them in the early parts of their career. It’s just awesome how they’ve watched.”
Steve Harvey also found his footing at the Stardome. “He was timid in the beginning,” Bruce says. “But once he got going, he became a force.”
The StarDome’s ability to nurture talent wasn’t just about stage time; it was about connection. Comics often felt like part of the family, with the Ayers clan rooting for their success.
“When you see them get better and better, it’s like watching a child grow,” Dena says. “There’s a lot of pride there, a whole lot of pride.”
CheChe echoes that sentiment. “It’s kind of like watching your children,” she says. “You see them grow, and then you see them on television or in movies, and you think, ‘They were here, and we were part of that.’”
The Ayers family talks about the pride of nurturing comics who come through their club.
Looking ahead
At 75 and 77, Bruce and CheChe show no signs of slowing down. They remain active in every aspect of the StarDome’s operations, working alongside their daughters and son-in-law to ensure the club’s continued success.
“These are my best friends,” Bruce says of his family. “We’re together all the time. We go on vacations together, we live just minutes apart — we’re blessed.”
The StarDome is evolving with the times, embracing digital platforms to reach new audiences and discovering comedians who are finding fame through YouTube, TikTok and other online platforms.
“Comedy is changing, and we’re changing with it,” Bruce says. “You’ve got comics now who can control their own destiny with social media. It’s a whole new world.”
Reflecting on four decades of the StarDome, Ayers feels both pride and gratitude. “We’re still here after 41 years, and that’s something I don’t take lightly,” he says. “It’s been peaks and valleys, but we’ve been lucky. We just try to do the right thing by our customers and our employees, and that’s really all you can do.”
With his family by his side and an ever-growing roster of talent, Ayers is optimistic about the future. “It’s been a wild ride,” he admits, “but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
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A signed photograph taken the day before the fire that tragically consumed the Comedy Club owned by Bruce Ayers on March 13, 1993. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Remnants of dollar bills and building materials left over after the fire at the Comedy Club in March 1993. Following the fire, owner Bruce Ayers moved to the Stardome in Hoover. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Remnants a Carrot Top comedian tshirt left over after the fire at the Comedy Club in March 1993. Following the fire, owner Bruce Ayers moved to the Stardome in Hoover. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Photo of Stardome owner Bruce Ayers and comedians Carrot Top and Pauly Shore at the comedy club in Hoover, AL. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Newspaper clippings of Steve Harvey, a comedian who made his first headlining preformance at the Comedy Club owned by Bruce Ayers, now displayed at the Stardome in Hoover, AL. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
STARDOME QUICK FACTS
WHAT: StarDome Comedy Club.
WHERE: 1818 Data Drive, Hoover.
PHONE: 205-444-0008
WEBSITE: Stardome.com
UPCOMING SHOWS:
– Shaun Jones, Jan. 3-5 (tickets)
– Craig Ferguson, Jan. 10-12 (tickets)
-- Full events calendar here.
