One era of comedy at Austin's Coffee ends, another begins with new location, new co-owner: Preacher Lawson

A young Preacher Lawson holding court at Austin’s Credit: Sarah Kinbar

For two decades, Sunday night at Austin’s Coffee was where Orlando comics tested material, bombed gloriously and became family. When the coffee shop and creative haven was forced to move, comedian Preacher Lawson stepped in to help keep that Sunday tradition alive.

“I’m really a silent investor. I don’t run the business,” says Lawson, who earned his comedy chops in Orlando and broke out nationally on America’s Got Talent, to Orlando Weekly. “My business was just to make sure that this place doesn’t get shut down, because it’s the longest-running mic in Orlando.”

That’s the short version of a story that has played out since 2021, when the City of Winter Park made it known it wished to buy the land at 929–957 W. Fairbanks Ave. for an intersection and drainage project. The purchase went through in late 2024, and with its lease set to expire October 31, 2025, Austin’s had to act. Fast.

Friends of Austin’s Coffee rose to the occasion and brought in funds. Siblings Angela Whitmer and Richard Whitmer came in as co-owners, and Lawson joined them following an early-August Hail Mary call from the savvy comedy mic mainstay Craig Norberg, who had an inkling Lawson might be game.

“Even when he was famous, he would always come in for open mics when he was in town,” says Norberg. “I knew he wanted it to succeed, so I told him what was going on.”

Norberg founded the mic the same year Austin’s opened, 2003. “I had been doing comedy for about a year or less,” he says. “I wanted more stage time for myself and the community. I really had no idea what I was doing, but I figured it was worth a shot.”

Intrepid comedy fan and supporter Jean Anderson first checked out Orlando comedy in 2005 or 2006. “I started going to Austin’s. That’s where I first saw Pat Garrity. He was pretty impressive. And later on, Preacher was there. He stood out right away,” she recalls.

“When I first came up, they showed me a lot of love,” says Lawson. “The owner knew my drink. It was an Arctic Thunder, basically chocolate milk, and I’d get it every Sunday. They’d see me walk in and just know. It’s been an important place in my life for a lot of reasons. It was the first place I performed after my breakup. It was the first place I went after being on TV. The first time I felt like I really killed on stage was there. I went up to do three minutes and ended up doing 10.”

Dewayne Williams first braved the mic in 2012 and became a regular in 2017. “Austin’s played a big role in my career because it gave me stage time,” he says. “It’s a different energy from anywhere else in the city. The crowd is mostly college kids. A lot of them haven’t lived through the things you’re talking about, so getting them to relate is a challenge. It was a fun challenge because the goal is the same. Make them laugh.”

From the start, Norberg wanted Austin’s to be what it in fact became, a home base for comedians.

“The first night I went, I didn’t even perform. I just hung out,” says Edwin Pagan. “Akeem Woods was guest hosting, and Heather Shaw, Justin Lawson and Ryan Holmes were around. I went back the next Sunday and finally went up. I don’t even remember how it went. At some point you stop caring about bombing; you’re just happy to be up there. Where else are you gonna do comedy on a Sunday?”

“The real magic was outside after midnight, with everyone just hanging out and talking. There wasn’t much drinking, so it was chill. That’s how I met people I’m still close with. Austin’s was social glue for comics in this city.”

Lawson sees it similarly. “Austin’s is a judgment-free zone. You could do whatever you wanted as long as you didn’t hurt anyone, and nobody cared. It’s weird in the best way, like family. You’ve got people you love, people you argue with, people you miss. It’s all family.”

Comedian Robin Love has been a regular at the mic, considering it a mainstay.

“We all keep coming back for something and at the end of the day, that’s what makes it beautiful,” she says.

On Sunday, Oct. 19, the comedy family gathered at the familiar building on Fairbanks for the last time. “It felt different,” Pagan says. “You saw all the comics you started with, all the old faces. It wasn’t a funeral; it was like a reunion. You realize how far everyone’s come, and you still have that respect for each other.”

“I have so many memories. I was crying. It’s just moving, and it’s good, but I’m still sad. I don’t know why,” says Love.

Now the good news: 2240 W. Fairbanks Ave., formerly Loving Vegan Market & Cuisine in Winter Park, is the confirmed new residence of this town’s favorite coffee, comedy and open mic haunt. And likely within weeks, said two insider sources, Austin’s will reopen.

“I’m excited for the new spot,” Williams says. “The longest-running open mic in Orlando gets to continue in a new location. New building, same night, same energy or better.”

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One era of comedy at Austin’s Coffee ends, another begins with new location, new co-owner: Preacher Lawson

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