This Manhattan deli even serves a side of standup comedy with its sandwiches.
Since September, the Hungry and Healthy Marketplace on the Upper West Side has been hosting Chopped Cheese Comedy nights in its upstairs space, a venue that has been dubbed Up And Up NYC.
“It adds an element of edge to the stand up environment and it makes it feel like a hip experience,” comedian Meka Mo, who is set to perform at the deli on December 29, told The Post.
To access the venue, guests enter the store at 163 W. 72nd St., walk past the hot food counter and take a left at the Dippin’ Dots freezer, then go up a flight of black stairs to a space on the second floor with seating for about 35 people.
By day, it’s an eating area for those looking to chow down on a breakfast sandwich or spicy chicken cutlets. By night, it’s an intimate performance space.
“It gets transformed into a cabaret,” said Lee Paul, a longtime comedian who is producing the comedy nights and open mics at the deli with promotional posters declaring it “NYC’s hottest new cabaret speakeasy.”
Initially shows were donation based, but now Paul generally charges $10 for tickets plus a $10 deli minimum. There is no drink minimum as there aren’t any drinks: Hungry and Healthy Marketplace is halal.
Paul, a 46-year-old from Long Island who has been sober for more than a decade, told The Post that the dry element makes the collaboration a “match made in heaven.”
He connected with Hungry and Healthy’s owners, Hazma and Salimen Nagi, via their cousin, who owns a bodega near Paul’s apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. The Nagis had been trying to find a way to utilize the upstairs space.
They experimented with letting local schools use if for events, but “then we kind of hit with the comedy shows” Salimen said.
Both audiences and performers are enjoying the unexpected performance space.
“I love unconventional venues because there’s opportunity for spontaneity and problem solving, which keeps every show fresh for the artists and our audience,” comedian Carly Dagit told The Post.
Funny gal Chanel Omari, who performed at Up & Up’s sold-out show last weekend and hosts the “Chanel in the City” podcast, joked that Hungry and Healthy is “one of the hottest delis in town.”
She predicts that Gothamites will see more quirky comedy venues. Mo notes that the combo of bodega and comedy club actually makes total sense.
“It’s very New York,” she said. “We spend so much time in corner stores. Why not sit in one and hear some jokes too.”
The next Chopped Cheese Comedy show will be on Friday, Dec. 29 at 8:30 P.M.
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