Atlanta has a new comedy club, and it's trading cramped brick-wall rooms for a 6,000-square-foot space with a jazz-age glow. Whiplash Comedy Club opened Monday inside Ponce City Market, the latest move from Marshall Chiles, the longtime Atlanta comedy figure who spent 16 years running the Laughing Skull Comedy Club in Midtown before launching this bigger, pricier bet on Old Fourth Ward.
Chiles decided to build a comedy club from scratch that would be upscale, less cramped, and more comfortable than a typical room, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The move follows his June 2025 exit from The Vortex in Midtown, where new ownership elected to handle comedy bookings directly after his 16-year run there, as Secret Atlanta reported at the time. Chiles told the AJC he pictured himself at 80 years old regretting it if he walked away from comedy altogether, and that the goal with Whiplash was to offer an elevated experience that would draw an audience that likes nice places.
Two Rooms, Up To 24 Shows A Week
Whiplash sits at 650 North Ave., Suite 201, upstairs from City Winery, inside the historic Ponce City Market complex at the corner of Glen Iris Drive and North Avenue in Old Fourth Ward, per the same AJC report and confirmed by the North Atlanta Star. The building itself is a piece of Atlanta history: Ponce City Market occupies a 2.1-million-square-foot former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution center built in 1926, redeveloped into a mixed-use hub by Jamestown, according to the real estate firm. Two years after Chiles' comedy venture, that history now has a floor of jokes to go with its shopping and offices.
The club runs two performance rooms. The Main Squeeze seats 130 and the Side Piece seats 40, and together they're slated to open daily and hold up to 24 events a week, per the AJC's reporting. The club plans to feature headline comics alongside showcases for relatively new performers, including the Heavy Hitters of Atlanta Comedy showcase. Beyond stand-up, the programming lineup includes open-mic nights, late-night jazz, close-up magic, and brunches.
First Nights With Friends And Family
Before the public opening, Whiplash held preview nights for friends and family. Stand-up veteran Ritch Shydner took the stage on October 8, and comedian Brian Tucker performed in the Main Squeeze room the following night, the AJC reported. Jeff Thompson is involved with the venue.
Food and drink options span cocktails, beer and nonalcoholic choices, and patrons can reach the club at 404-201-2424.
A 1920s Jazz Club, But Make It Stand-Up
Chiles has described the creative direction behind Whiplash as “a 1920s jazz club at Ponce City Market, but make it stand-up comedy,” according to the North Atlanta Star. Outside, a 3,100-square-foot patio called Third Wheel extends the hospitality footprint with its own food menu of flatbreads, pretzel bites, desserts and coffee.
Local comedians get a dedicated showcase too: Heavy Hitters of Atlanta Comedy features roughly 10 Atlanta-area comics each doing eight-minute sets on a single bill, the Business Chronicle noted. It's a format that echoes the showcase structure Chiles built during his years running Laughing Skull.
From Funny Farm To A Festival Rebrand
Chiles' path to Whiplash stretches back a quarter century. He began performing stand-up in 2000 and bought the Funny Farm Comedy Club in Roswell in 2002, running it until he opened Laughing Skull Lounge in 2009. After Chiles was forced out of Laughing Skull in 2025, he considered walking away from the comedy business entirely before deciding to build something new.
His flagship industry event is making the jump too. The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, which Chiles launched in 2010 as a showcase for emerging comedians, is set to resume in 2027 under a new name: the Whiplash Comedy Festival, according to the Business Chronicle.
Whiplash now joins an Atlanta comedy scene anchored for decades by The Punchline Comedy Club, which opened in Sandy Springs in 1982 before relocating to Buckhead's Landmark Diner in 2015, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's earlier reporting. Whiplash also shares its building with another entertainment draw: City Winery opened a 26,000-square-foot, 300-seat facility at Ponce City Market in June 2016, and Hoodline previously reported on its live music bookings downstairs from where Whiplash now performs.
