A longtime favorite store has returned to the Nittany Mall

Can’s Art sold posters and prints for nearly 25 years, before closing its doors in January of last year. Now, those doors have reopened.

The store resumed operations at Nittany Mall this past weekend, with a Facebook post announcing its return. Sergio Can, the owner, cited high rent as the reason behind his shop’s temporary retirement. Now, after negotiating for lower prices, Can is happy to be back in business.

Stretching far back into mall space, the walls of Can’s Art are adorned with artwork of all types and stripes, from movie posters to Van Gogh paintings. According to Can’s estimates, however, portraits of Joe Paterno top the store’s best-seller list.

“I’ve been collecting these prints for 20 years,” Can said, as he pointed to a section of the store dedicated to the former Penn State football coach.

Can’s personal favorite, however, isn’t a signed poster of JoePa but rather a work by painter Thomas Kinkade, with the painting in question depicting characters and locales from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Can brought the piece for $5,000, and chose to fill his storefront windows with other Kinkade crafts.

Can said he was pleasantly “shocked” by the amount of business so far, and hopes the popularity continues.

This story was originally published September 12, 2018 at 10:06 AM.