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CANS is Back! August 25th, 2011 Posted by April Smith
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Remember the days before the creation of The Epicenter and The Music Factory? Where did all of us young Charlotteans go on a give-it-all-you-got night out before there ever was Suite, Prohibition, Republic and Butter? Hard to remember that time now, I know… but if you’ve lived here for over 4 years then the answer to that question would be: CANS.
CANS, which was located on the corner of Graham and 5th in uptown, was a HUGE watering hole just a few years ago for the newly relocated young crowd that gave Charlotte it’s attractive reputation. This massive 3 story bar was a home away from home for many when Charlotte was booming. I had personally only visited CANS a handful of times during their prime but remember thinking that it would be nothing short of easy getting lost in that place. There were lines everywhere… to get in, to get a beer, to use the restroom, to go downstairs, to go upstairs. PACKED. CANS killed it in Uptown Charlotte for years by offering a new space, awesome DJ’s, a killer hot staff and 22oz canned beers. (The youngens dig the cheap stuff.)

But unfortunately, the economy took its’ toll on the city, and shortly after The Epicenter opened and added more bars to the scene, CANS suffered from the hit and closed its’ doors after the final Panthers game of the season in January of 2009. Shortly thereafter, many people suffered from CANS withdrawal and fell into a deep depression from lack of fried Twinkies and Tall Boys. OK, I made that part up but a lot of people were really sad to see the place go…

Cut to 2 1/2 years and a painfully terrible Panthers season later, and now we’re headed into a new season with what could be a promising lineup thanks to the team actually spending some legitimate cash. With the possibility of people actually GOING to games this season, where will they go afterwards? Same answer as before: CANS.

Say whaaat?!

Yup, CANS is back as “CANS: Recycled”. Every Panthers home game, we will all be able to reminisce about how great CANS used to be while actually partying there. The owner of the building, where 5th Element now resides, has been courteous enough to let us travel back in time. This ingenious idea is brought to you by Zack Luttrell and Geoff Mears. Geoff was a manager of CANS from day one and Zack, a regular and house DJ of CANS, hosted Panthers tailgates back in the day. Since these two guys and their circle of friends missed the bar so much, they’ve decided to bring it back to show us how it’s done on home game days in the Queen City.

CANS: Recycled will be open from 12pm-2am on home game days only serving a small food menu and their renowned Tall Boy cans in addition to a full bar. For those not going to the actual game, you will still be able to watch the Panthers dominate on their slew of TVs with sound and a DJ will be spinning 80’s, 90’s and current hits for the after party (which is sure to be nuts). But the best part of all of this will be the people BEHIND the bar. Zack and Geoff are exclusively bringing the old school CANS bartenders back to sling drinks for old times’ sake. I asked to get the skinny on exactly who that staff might consist of but couldn’t get the lineup just yet. (But when I do, I’ll be sure to post here.) I also asked if these two had any intention to open permanently again or for away games this season and the consensus seems to be that those plans are not in the cards for now. But to some it’s like Christmas again because CANS is BACK and we’re gonna party like it’s 2007 again.

CANS: Recycled Launch Party will be Thursday, September 1st for the first Panthers home game. Check out more info on the project on CANS:Recycled Facebook page.
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April Smith
Staff Writer, CarolinaNightlife.com1 Posts
April Smith has worked in Charlotte nightlife for over 4 years and is a self proclaimed Social Media nerd. When she's not blogging, tweeting or running, she's most likely slinging drinks or out on the town.