Since 1987, comics not well-known enough to pack the Hult Center or the McDonald Theatre have performed at a little nightclub on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard called Tsunami’s. The club, which is part of Kowloon Restaurant, presents live stand-up comedy every Saturday at 9 p.m.
In the past, the club has hosted comics like Margaret Cho, who was featured at Tsunami’s long before she was too famous to perform anywhere but the largest venues in town.
Another Tsunami’s performer who went on to bigger and better things is Carlos Alazraqui, better known for his role as Dep. James Garcia on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911,” or as the voice of the Taco Bell Chihuahua.
Kowloon was founded by Kit Wha Chan, who emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States with his family when he was 17 and moved to Oregon three years later in 1972. In 1975, Chan opened his first restaurant, Canton, in Roseburg. Chan explains with a painful smirk that he “learned a lot from that experience.”
In 1978, Chan bought the piece of land that would be the first Kowloon Restaurant, which opened a year later in Roseburg. Chan became interested in operating a night club after observing the success of a place in Roseburg called P.P. Clayton’s, and in 1981 added a tiki lounge to Kowloon. He got in touch with a talent agent from Portland who had booked appearances by Bobcat Goldthwait, The Smothers Brothers, Victoria Jackson and even Ralph Nader in nightclubs and on college campuses. The next year, Kowloon’s stand-up comedy night began, and when Chan opened a second location in Eugene in 1987, he began booking acts there as well.
The stand-up nights attracted small crowds of 15 to 20 people at first, creating a very awkward and disappointing environment for the comics. Sometimes the comics had to travel to Eugene on a Greyhound bus and get picked up by Chan at the station. But the word got out, and now anywhere from 120 to 200 people show up every Saturday night for the performances, according to assistant bar manager Sarah Bauman.
All performances are on Saturdays at 9 p.m. The cover is $6. Upcoming performances include Brandon Sass and Doug Coover on Nov. 27, Jimmy Turner and Auggie Smith on Dec. 11 and Sadiki Fuller on Dec. 18. Kowloon/Tsunami’s is at 2222 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

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