Why the owner of nationally acclaimed Acme Comedy Company doesn't laugh

In the North Loop of Minneapolis, Acme Comedy Company sits south of the street, an underground club where people come to sit, smile and, ideally, laugh.

When the laughers aren't here, the one who organized them is.  

"I do, but I can't laugh at most of them," Louis Lee said when asked if he still enjoys comedy. He says all the years of listening have made him a bit "numb" to having the physical response of laughter.

There have been a lot of laughs between the time Lee got to Minnesota as a college student and now. He came to Minnesota decades ago from Hong Kong to become a student at the University of Minnesota. He says listening to comedy helped him learn English.

While working in restaurants, Lee got an ear for standup and opened his own club in 1991. To this day, he still handpicks the acts, which he says is fun 80% of the time.

He takes it seriously and history shows he has an ear for talent. He's hosted Robin Williams, Ali Wong, Nate Bargatze and Chad Daniels, amongst the thousands.

Daniels is a northern Minnesota native. These days, Netflix is where he is; Acme is where it started. 

"I don't know what it does, but it gets my brain going and I write more material on this stage than anywhere else," Daniels said.

From Jerry Seinfeld to Louis C.K., comics praise Minneapolis and Acme again and again. 

"I don't know if it has to do with six months of winter where you're like, 'Hey, we have watched enough Family Feud, we need something else. We are out of our houses.' And even in the summertime, it's beautiful out, we know winter's going to be here again, so we just, it just seems like Minnesotans know how to enjoy themselves," Daniels said.

As for the Acme environment, Lee says, "Number one, the staff is welcoming and we always try to treat comics the best we can, but I think the most important part is the audience; they love comedy."

As for his resume, Lee won't take much credit; it seems the Minnesota nice rubbed off on him. 

"You don't need to work Acme to be successful. We are a small club, so our role is making sure almost everyone who works here, they know they are walking down the right path," Lee said.

While he lifts up the people who are standing, he also cares about the people who are sitting. 

"We got a lot of tragedy in the last few years, and I can see every time, even the day of bad things happen, the people here, they want escape. Some of them, when the show's over, it's like they can breathe a little bit," Lee said.

Even though he may no longer laugh, he does feel good. 

"I don't think anybody could pay me enough money to have this kind of satisfaction," Lee said.