Guests who visit The National Comedy Center can keep the laughs going by visiting the nearby Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum the center operates. The complementary experience offers a deep-dive into all things Lucy. (Vitameatavegamin, anyone?)
Kate Rinko manages retail for both shops, and gifts at the Lucy Desi Museum are curated to align with this entirely different attraction. There is some cross-over, but The Comedy Shop’s I Love Lucy and related offerings — including Andy Griffith — are more of a sampler, with the Lucy Desi shop delivering a main course of souvenirs related to the shows.
Staff at both shops are trained to steer guests to all of the retail opportunities.
“The shops have their own identities,” Rinko says, relating that less than 5% of Lucy Desi merchandise at The Comedy Shop is also at its sister store. Plus, because the museum celebrates Desilu Studios and is the official destination celebrating the “first couple of comedy,” its shop has trademark rights to create licensed I Love Lucy products that are not found anywhere else.
“If we overhear a customer at The Comedy Shop say, ‘I thought you’d have more I Love Lucy stuff,’ we can direct them down the block and share the excitement of learning that there’s a museum for one of their favorite comedians with its very own store,” Rinko says.
