Yes, They Can

By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the December 2024 issue.

By Peter Gianopulos

After more than three decades, a local tavern finds a new home

It was a George Bailey moment. It’s A Wonderful Life—Naperville edition. It happened in late 2023, when Matt and Sandy Rocush announced that their come-as-you-are community tavern, The Can, was going to be relocating after 32 years in an unassuming strip mall.

Progress stops for no watering hole, even one as beloved as The Can. The original launched in 1993, as The Cantina, seeing that it was housed inside a Pepe’s Mexican restaurant. The owners kept things simple: killer margaritas, unironic domestic brews, big-hearted bartenders, and dart tournaments. Over time, the regulars trimmed the name down to a couple syllables, calling it “The Can.” And the name stuck.

All the regulars have stories, including the Rocushes. Matt still fondly remembers going to Pepe’s with his father when he was only barstool high. Later when he played softball with Sandy, then his girlfriend, they’d grab beers there after hard-fought Ws under the lights. The Can went on to sponsor their softball team. Matt honed his dart game there. Lifelong friends were made by both Matt and Sandy. It became their place.

So in 2015, when the owners were looking to get out, the Rocushes purchased it to save it. Didn’t matter that they had to hold onto their day jobs to do it. “It became like our second home,” Matt says. “Our philosophy was ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’” And that’s how things continued until the mall’s new owners planned to overhaul the shopping center.

So when the Rocushes announced that closing time was nigh, word spread. Old regulars came back for one last drink and one last steak taco, spinning yarns worthy of a Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” sequel. But the Rocushes made it known that they didn’t plan on this being the final round. They’d been looking for a new home for The Can. In April 2024, they got their keys and a new space at 634 East Ogden Avenue.

A new location but same old-school vibe. There’s no food yet, but the Rocushes are working on that. The beer list is as simple as before. Margaritas from a decade-old secret recipe. Sudsy pitchers. A revolving list of craft beers. “We’re still a shot and a beer kind of place,” Matt says.

The Rocushes are excited about their first winter in the new digs. They’ll throw a potluck-style New Year’s Eve party—no tickets required. Everybody brings in hot dishes, and there will be a free round of Champagne come midnight. It’ll be a celebration of a new home, Matt says, and a new beginning with lots of friendly faces, and hopefully quite a few new ones, too.

Photos: The Can