[citation needed] Originally known as Cobb's Pub, it became Cobb's Comedy Club, operated by Ron Kakiki and John Cantu[6] in 1982 at 2069 Chestnut Street in San Francisco's Marina District.

[7] In 1987, it moved to the Cannery Shopping Center in the historic Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco neighborhood,[6] where it thrived for over a decade with owners Tom and Carolyn Sawyer, who went on to run the venue for more than 25 years.

[8] Damage from the fire and subsequent flooding closed Cobb's for a month before forcing the Sawyers into a lawsuit which eventually resulted in the club's eviction from the building.

[9] With the help of some prominent comedian friends, the Sawyers raised enough money to reopen Cobb's in November 2002 at 915 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood,[10] in the club formerly known as "Dance Your Ass Off" (disco), later Wolfgang's (rock),[11][12] where, as of August 2022, it remains.

The Punch Line was owned and operated by Bill Graham in 1978 next to the rock venue formerly known as the Old Waldorf.