Sunday Night Shows at Comedy Club Will Benefit Boyle Heights Bakery

The Comedy Club in Hollywood is donating the proceeds from every Sunday night show in December to help reopen a Boyle Heights bakery that has provided training and paychecks to ex-gang members.

The Homeboy Bakery, which employed 11 former gang members, closed in October after an electrical fire caused an estimated $40,000 in damage.

Father Gregory Boyle, who started the bakery and five other businesses that employ former gang members, said the that building could not be salvaged and that he is looking for a new home for the enterprise.

Boyle said he is considering a defunct bakery in Lincoln Heights, which would cost about $1.7 million to buy and refurbish.

The Roman Catholic priest said nearly $500,000 has been raised for the new bakery, including a $100,000 challenge grant offered by the Miller Brewing Co. Los Angeles City Councilman Nick Pacheco helped collect another $100,000 from corporate sponsors.

The Comedy Club’s 8 p.m. shows will feature such comedians as Mark Curry, Willie Marcena and Dom Irrera. Tickets are $10.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it would hire several ex-gang members from Homeboy Industries to landscape three vacant MTA parcels that were purchased for the suspended Metro Rail subway extension in the Eastside. MTA officials are studying future uses for the land.

Boyle said the MTA project will employ between eight and 24 people, each earning at least $7 per hour for up to six months.