Nothing Funny About Carpetbaggers Trying to Run Dallas Comedy House Out of Deep Ellum

Thursday, around 3 in the afternoon, I got a message from Frank Campagna, for many of us the Voice of Deep Ellum since, well, Reagan's first term. "Hey buddy, not sure if you're interested but this is messed up," wrote the artist and gallery owner who these days tends to reach out with sad news or bad news. Frank had attached a lengthy Facebook post from Amanda Austin, owner of the Dallas Comedy House on Main Street, in which she detailed how the comedy club and improv workshop was getting the boot from her Deep Ellum digs by a carpetbagging landlord -- Black Market Investments, out of Lockhart -- wanting to sink yet another barbecue joint in the neighborhood. Austin would tell me later that she tried to keep the whole thing a secret, hoping it would be resolved to everyone's benefit, till it became painfully clear her days were numbered.  Continue reading...