‘I tried my best to create something that doesn’t exist in Oshkosh’

Rachel Sankey

Past Staff

July 15, 2024

OSHKOSH – Kate Voss – a full-time musician-turned-businesswoman – said her career has taken her and her husband, Jason Goessel, all over the country.

But, it was the City of Oshkosh’s sense of community, she said, that inspired them to transition from life on the road to settling down and preparing for the next phase of their lives – which included starting a business, setting up a music studio and preparing for a baby.

“I feel grateful to be immersed in this awesome artistic community,” she said. 

Voss is the owner of Can Can Oshkosh, a boutique and bar that opened earlier this year at 584 N. Main St.

And, coincidentally, she said it was music that led her to open her own brick-and-mortar.

Everything falls into place

Voss said they moved to Oshkosh three-and-a-half years ago, but prior to that, they were full-time performing musicians.

“We’ve toured through the Fox Valley a couple of times,” she said. “We were like, ‘man, this (area) is amazing.’ The music, the musicians and the encouragement of the music were so powerful and beautiful that we were like, ‘this might be the spot for us if we end up moving.’ And we did.”

At the time, Voss said they were living in Seattle, Washington.

About four years ago, Voss said she and Goessel started working with a record label out of Denver, Colorado, and spent time touring in that area.

“One of the people who we’d been working with, he was showing us around Denver…,” she said. “We went to this shop called Garage Sale, it was all consignment – so there were a lot of different vendors and booths – but it also had a full bar in the shop.”

Voss said she was thinking, “this is amazing.”

“There were little areas where people could play records, you could hang out in the bar area and there are two floors of shopping,” she said. “I was like, ‘this is all my favorite stuff in one store… maybe someday that would be something I could do.’”

Then, Voss said, “I forgot about it completely.”

Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and because they were touring, she said they were living in a motorhome at the time.

“We were like, ‘Seattle is not the place for us right now as full-time artists because you can’t work,’” she said. “‘Because we already have a self-contained unit we can drive around in, let’s go.’”

From there, Voss said she and Goessel hit the road – traveling all over doing what they called their Curbside Concert Tour.

“We would pull up to parking lots, driveways or cul de sacs – places where people could socially distance – and we would do concerts for communities,” she said. “That was cool – we could keep working and also bring a little peace and happiness to an otherwise wild and disturbing time.”

At one point, the couple’s tour landed them in Nashville, where Voss said she found yet another Garage Sale shop. 

“I was like, ‘oh my gosh, these places keep following me around,’” she said. 

When they decided to plant roots in Oshkosh to start a family, Voss said the idea of a shop of her own resurfaced.

“What if we (opened) a boutique and bar here in Oshkosh?” she said. “We could find a place we can either rent or buy, and we can maybe live above the shop. I had grand ideas.”

And, last year, Voss said, “the stars aligned.”

“We opened up Can Can, and we live above the shop,” she said. “Next door, we have a recording studio that houses our record label that we started a couple of years ago in collaboration with another label… And we’re having a baby next month.”

If watching her dreams become a reality wasn’t enough of an indicator that opening Can Can was what she was meant to do, Voss said the history of the building was the thing that sealed the deal.

“It sounds like this space in particular used to be a similar shop/saloon (about) 100 years ago,” she laughed. “I had a historian come by… and he was like, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this because this (building) used to be owned by a lady named Josephine, who made hats – but there was also a saloon – and she lived upstairs.’”

Though she opened Can Can in early February, Voss said she did not have a liquor license at the time – which is why the official ribbon cutting didn’t happen until June.

“After six months of trying to get (a liquor license), we finally got it,” she said. “We served our first drink June 1.”

Voss said gaining the license wouldn’t have been possible without the City of Oshkosh “believing in this idea.”

“That was awesome,” she said. 

Step into a different era

As a “huge fan” of Moulin Rouge and the art deco movement that happened around the time the musical is set in, Voss said she knew she wanted her shop’s name and theme to reflect that passion.

“I thought it would be cute to have all the can-can skirts and that vintage art deco feel,” she said. “I’ve got parasols all over the place and kitschy, fun stuff. And – we only exclusively serve cans of beverages, (hence the shop’s name).” 

As a continued play on the Can Can name, Voss said a can crusher was installed for customers to use once they’ve finished their drink, and she sells postcards with phrases, such as “You’re crushing it!” 

The business’s slogan, she said, even reads “Have fun fun at Can Can.”

“That’s the whole point – people come here and look at art, they look at kitschy, funny stuff, they have a drink and get something that isn’t sold anywhere else around here,” she said. “It’s a little bit of a novelty space but also a space to look around and… experience local art and weird stuff.”

Voss said, for her, it’s also important that customers are immersed in the art she has throughout the shop, “rather than just looking at it.”

“I have an old pump organ that I encourage everyone to sit down and play because it’s fun…,” she said. “And then my husband put together this old Zenith TV from the ’80s – and somehow – there is some sort of adapter you can plug into this old TV where your iPhone will play on the screen when it’s playing… That’s one of the biggest attractions.”

Voss said the TV is always displaying music videos from artists who are under their label – Sun Goose Records.

“It’s a way we can present our other business,” she said. 

When working on opening the shop, Voss said it was crucial to provide a safe space for people to be themselves – as that is what it has become.

“I get to be my quirky, weird self and be a beacon for all the quirky, weird bohemian artists out there…,” she said. “I feel there’s a lot of potential for people with big imaginations to come here and be like, ‘oh yeah, this is my spot.’”

A variety of items 

When someone first walks into Can Can, Voss said they can expect to find “a mix of items for sale.”

Local art pieces, she said, make up a portion of those items.

“We have original pieces for sale,” she said. “There are a lot of prints, magnets and stickers from artists.”

The shop also carries curated vintage items.

“I am into the ’60s kitsch movement,” she said. “So there’s a lot of glass and weird, quirky little figurines – things like that.”

Many of the vintage items, Voss said, give people a sense of nostalgia.

“I get a lot of responses from people of all ages that say, ‘oh, my mom used to have this item,’ or, ‘my grandma used to have this at her house,’” she said. “There is this overwhelmingly positive association to some of these items.”

Voss said she also carries various wholesale items – such as jewelry, accessories, glitter spray, tumblers and a rubber ducky collection.

“It’s a wild, fun, quirky and weird mix of things – but there’s still something for everybody…,” she said. “I tried my best to create something that does not exist in Oshkosh.”

And, of course, she said, shoppers aged 21 and up are welcome to purchase an alcoholic beverage at the mini-bar in the back of the shop to sip on while they browse through the retail portion of the store.

“It’s a drink, sip and shop vibe, but if somebody wants to sit and hang out for a bit, that’s cool,” she said. “I brought back these adult coloring and activity books from Seattle that are all ’80s hair metal-themed, so I have one of those books open at the counter if anybody wants to color while they’re sipping their drink.”

Additionally, Voss said Can Can has been participating in the gallery walks downtown Oshkosh has on the first Saturday of every month.

“It’s a way for businesses to stay open a bit later and get people downtown to look at some art,” she said. 

For July’s gallery walk, Voss said she was able “to present art no one in Oshkosh has ever seen.”

“We went back to Seattle for a baby shower last month, and I came back with a bunch of art from one of my favorite artists there…,” she said. “That’s exciting for me.”

Women empowerment

Though opening up a brick-and-mortar was new to her, Voss said she knows a thing or two about running the show.

“I have been running our music business for the last 11 years,” she said. “My husband and I have an act together called Sundae + Mr. Goessel, and then I have my own band called Kate Voss & The Hot Sauce – he also has a few of his own bands.”

Some of Voss’s other jobs throughout the years, such as working in retail and in the bar scene, she said, helped prepare her for Can Can.

“(I’m) motivated,” she said. “This has been a wonderful project to be a part of and a wonderful endeavor for sure. But, it’s been challenging in many ways because I’ve never had a brick-and-mortar space… It’s been a wild journey.”

As a woman-owned business, Voss said it’s important to support other entrepreneurial and artistic women.

“It’s important we encourage one another and be cheerleaders for one another – especially women in music and the arts – because oftentimes, it gets competitive…,” she said. “Most of my artists are women. I have some men, and I have a special place in my heart for any sort of artist whose voice is not as amplified as it should be.”

To Voss’s surprise, she said most small businesses in downtown Oshkosh are owned by women – which has been “a great realization and resource.”

“I also am proud of myself for taking this risk with this baby in tow because I feel I’m teaching her she can do anything,” she said. “Whatever she wants to set out to try and do, work hard and (she) can do it no matter what.”

To keep up to date with Can Can, visit its Facebook page.