"Ample free parking, the square footage we required, and a central location easily accessible from all directions." Christopher Carbo, owner and operator of Palm Beach Improv, gave the South Florida Sun Sentinel those three reasons for moving his comedy club to the Mall at Wellington Green. He added that when the mall approached him, the decision was clear.
Over the past few months, a comedy club, a live-music pub, an expanded arcade with its own bar and a children's play center have all opened inside one mall at 10300 W. Forest Hill Blvd. An indoor pickleball complex is being built across the parking lot. Taken together, they put dinner, a show and a late drink in one building in Wellington.
The club that spent three years looking for a room
For years, Palm Beach Improv was a West Palm Beach venue. Its longtime home was at CityPlace. After redevelopment plans closed that location, the club spent about three years hosting shows at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Carbo told the Sun Sentinel that finding a space that met all of the club's operational needs took three years.
It found that space in Wellington. The Improv opened on Sept. 4, 2026, and Nate Jackson headlined the first run, Sept. 4 through 6. The showroom sits on the mall's upper level, in the southeast corner between CMX Cinemas and Macy's. According to Stet News, it holds about 450 seats in a mix of booths and high- and low-top tables. The club's home was in West Palm Beach for years. Now its stage is on the west side of the county.
Why the mall said yes
The mall needed a tenant like this as much as the Improv needed a room. Nordstrom closed in 2019, and in the years since, the space has been used mostly for storage and seasonal pop-ups. Lord & Taylor left far earlier, in 2004. City Furniture took that store, and part of it later became a cinema. Macy's, Dillard's and JCPenney remain as department-store anchors.
The mall's general manager, Asad Sadiq, has said plainly what he is building. "We're focused on creating more reasons for guests to visit, stay longer and enjoy experiences that extend well beyond traditional shopping," he told the Town-Crier in October.
The phrase "stay longer" explains how the new wing is laid out. The venues that opened this year are arranged so a visitor can go from one to the next without leaving the building.
One corridor, three stops
The Improv and Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen were announced together in June 2025 for a combined 13,700-square-foot space on the upper level. At the time, they were expected to open in late 2025. That target slipped. Copper Blues held its public grand opening on Oct. 16 and 17, 2026.
The two venues work as one. The Town-Crier reported that Copper Blues is the comedy club's official bar and restaurant. Ticket holders can stop in before or after a show, and diners who aren't seeing a show are welcome too. The pub holds up to 275 guests, counting bar and outdoor seating. The menu runs to American pub dishes such as Copper Nachos and Steak Frites, with cocktails like the Strawberry Fields and the Champagne Supernova. Happy hour specials are on offer, and brunch is planned. On its Palm Beach location page, Copper Blues says acoustic acts play during happy hour and bands play on weekends.
The setup has a precedent. The Sun Sentinel noted that Copper Blues also sat next to the Improv at the club's original location and does so at the Miami Improv in Doral. CMX Cinemas is on the other side of the Improv. That puts dinner, a comedy set and a movie in one upper-level corner of the mall.
November on the upper level
Here is a sample of upcoming listings from the Palm Beach Improv events page, which has dates running into December:
- Nov. 4: Carlos Sanchez, a Spanish-language show
- Nov. 6 to 7: Ralph Barbosa
- Nov. 11: Suzanne Lambert
- Nov. 12: Jeff Dye
- Nov. 17: Stone Cold & Jackal Holiday Show
- Nov. 18: Improv's Annual Turkey Contest
- Nov. 19: Tony Baker
- Nov. 20 to 21: Danny Gonzalez
- Nov. 27 to 29: Adam Carolla, over Thanksgiving weekend
- Dec. 3 to 6: Damon Wayans
The schedule puts shows on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as well as weekends. Stet News reported the same pattern before opening: more than 40 shows from Sept. 4 through New Year's Eve, spread across weeknights and weekends.
Downstairs, the same idea for families
The upper level is built for adults' evenings. The ground and second floors are doing the same thing for families.
Arcade Time moved out of its old second-floor spot into a first-floor space of more than 13,000 square feet across from the food court, and it added a full-service kitchen and bar. The expansion held its grand opening on July 8. On the second floor near the Grand Court, the Town-Crier reported that Kids Empire opened a 10,223-square-foot indoor play center with climbing structures, go-karts, a toddler area and a snack bar.
Arcade Time and the Improv are aimed at different ages, but both serve food and drinks on site so visitors can stay through a meal.
Across the parking lot, a building empty since 2008
The next opening is outside the mall, in the Shoppes at Wellington Green, the plaza on Forest Hill Boulevard in front of it. Circuit City built the store at 10570 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in 2002. The Town-Crier reported that the building has been mostly vacant since the chain closed all its stores after its 2008 bankruptcy, and that several earlier proposals for it never went forward.
Diadem Pickleball Complex is now building there: 11 air-conditioned indoor courts, two pickleball simulators, two golf simulators, a pro shop, a private party area and a restaurant and bar. Gene DeVito, Diadem's general manager and director of pickleball, told the Town-Crier the company chose Wellington because the village has an established pickleball community but few indoor options. Tim Stillings, Wellington's planning, zoning and building director, told the paper the project fills "a storefront that has been vacant for many years."
As of the Town-Crier's September report, the company planned a soft opening in December and a full launch in January. The interior build-out was permitted and underway, but no permits had yet been filed for court installation. Those dates are targets. The Diadem website is the place to check for updates.
The rest of the night on Forest Hill Boulevard
The mall's new venues sit on the same road as Wellington's civic venues. Wellington Amphitheater, at 12100 Forest Hill Blvd., has a full November calendar. Thursday events run 5 to 9 p.m., and weekend concerts run 6 to 9:30 p.m.
| Date | At the amphitheater | At the Improv |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 5 | Thursday Nights in Wellington with The Derek Mack Band, free entry | |
| Thursday, Nov. 12 | Magic Ann | Jeff Dye |
| Saturday, Nov. 14 | The Long Run | |
| Thursday, Nov. 19 | Vinyl Highway | Tony Baker |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Love Cats | Danny Gonzalez |
The village's Thursday night on Nov. 5 also includes food trucks and a local market. The village calendar warns that dates and times can change, so check it before you go.
For a movie, Flagship Premium Cinemas is another option near the mall. Its renovated theater reopened June 19 at Wellington Marketplace, 13881 Wellington Trace.
What comes next for the mall
More change is coming to the mall. The Real Deal reported in August that Bainbridge Companies has the mall under contract from Spinoso Real Estate Group, the court-appointed receiver that manages it for an owner affiliated with Starwood. On March 31, Bainbridge applied to replace the empty Nordstrom building with three seven-story apartment buildings: 620 units, a parking garage and up to 1.5 acres of recreation space. As of the Town-Crier's April report, village staff was still reviewing the plan, and it still needs a master-plan amendment and approvals from village boards and the council.
The Nordstrom site has had a plan for outdoor entertainment before. A 2019 proposal to turn it into a large outdoor entertainment area did not move forward. The entertainment the mall does have now is indoors, in the corner of the upper level between Macy's and CMX, where the Improv opened in September and Copper Blues followed in October.
Whether you're planning a night at the Improv or wondering how the changes at Wellington Green fit into your own plans, The Ahee Group follows this corner of Forest Hill Boulevard closely. Request a Concierge Consultation, and we'll start with how you like to spend your evenings.