Bonkerz has proven to be a name you can trust in Central Florida comedy since 1987, when the founders moved the company from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Orlando. And now the venerable comedy franchise is expanding out to Winter Park, with weekly shows at Twisted Root Burger.
By partnering with the Bonkerz comedy brand, Twisted Root Burger has made itself a go-to spot for good comedy. Their weekly Friday comedy event proved so popular, often filling all 197 seats, that they added a second night back in December.
Twisted Root Burger manager Mark Stoves loves the energy Bonkerz is bringing in: “Most people want something different and unexpected, and that’s what we’re giving them. Last week Michael Oldroyd was here, and he really stood out.”
If last Saturday’s show was any indication, the unique burger joint — the menu has all the standards plus game meats like bison and ostrich — is the right setting for comedy.
Host Roberto “Mini” Font set the stage: “You would think with it being Winter Park that you might get one kind of audience, but it’s very diverse. All ages and backgrounds. This venue is perfect to me because of the intimacy and the crowd. Plus I love the food there. It's ridiculous. It's probably the best burger place in town,” he said. “Friday is a little younger, more of a college crowd, and Saturday you see more married couples in their forties. I love all of them.”
Mini got the audience comfortable and then introduced Trevor Glassman, a comedian originally from Bedford, New Hampshire, the same town that gave us Sarah Silverman and Seth Meyers. Glassman got turned on to comedy upon seeing Kat Williams in 6th grade. Naturally funny and offbeat, Glassman savored the thought of getting on stage and making people laugh.
click to enlarge 
Photo by Sarah Kinbar
Roberto “Mini” Font hosting Bonkez's night at Twisted Root
“I tried an office job. I was decent at it, but I hated it. Going into my sophomore year of college, I realized comedy is actually a career path. I called Seth Meyer’s mom – she was one of my middle school teachers – and she told me should move to Chicago be around comedians all the time. So that’s what I did.”
Glassman absorbed all that Chicago experience for two years and then landed in Tampa, Florida, three years ago, where he has continued pursuing his dream. Athletic, assertive, and charismatic, he comes off like an all-American guy brimming with confidence. That’s just one layer. His comedy reveals a complex, witty and very smart man.
Orlando audiences have heard from the evening's headliner, Tampa-based Michael Oldroyd before, but this was
Orlando Weekly’s first time seeing him headline. Affable and easy on the eyes, the comedian got away with asking this largely 55+ audience from the Villages, “Who wants to have sex?” and later closing with, “Anybody gonna have sex after this?”
Yes, his set is packed with sex jokes, referencing his possibly fictional May-December encounter at 23 with a 63-year-old woman. Then he mused, “Would Shakespeare have been good at sexting?” He pondered what it would be like to feed peanuts to a giant phallus. It all plays.
You can expect more like this from Twisted Root Burger and Bonkerz partnership, where Stoves is on the alert for fresh, raw comedy that breaks the rules.
Bonkerz also operates two dedicated area locations — one at Margaritaville Resort and the other inside Boardwalk Bowl.
Keep up with the schedule of upcoming performers
through the Bonkerz website.
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