According to a recent article from the Chicago Tribune, Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant will be relocating and rebranding at 634 E Ogden Ave in Naperville.
“Pepe’s Restaurant has been at our current location for 46 years, with the bar being there for 30 years, until our lease ended at the end of the year. We looked for a place to bring the restaurant, and we landed on what is currently Miss Kitty’s Saloon. Depending on licensing and other things, our goal is to be able to open sometime mid-February to the end of February,” co-owner Matt Rocush told What Now Chicago.
“Hopefully, in the future, we will be looking to build out a new restaurant and will make some cosmetic improvements, as we want to continue to be a bar and restaurant. We want to carry over the same neighborhood feel to the new location. We won’t have the kitchen immediately, so for the time being, we will put a bigger focus on being a sports bar.”
“We currently have regular dart tournaments on Thursday and hope to expand that, alongside holding Golden Tea tournaments. Next year, budget permitting, we hope to also have NFL Sunday tickets and have all the games on. We will bring a lot of TV for customers to be able to watch sports. Essentially, sports and games will be our main focus for the time being.”
“We will still have house margaritas that customers have known and loved from our current location, and still will have a little bit of cantina flair with drinks. Going forward we would love to bring Pepe’s name back to Naperville depending on a few factors, but if not, there will still be a nod to Pepe’s heritage, such as our salsa recipe. Once we have a kitchen, we are considering the option of bar food, such as homemade fries and burgers. It will be a homemade, scratch-made menu, with limited but great options.”
“There are three owners, with me being one of them. The other two owners are my wife, Sandy Rocush, and Rod Peterson. Rod historically took care of the finance and back office side of things, Sandy ran the bar side, and I ran the restaurant. I will be figuring out my new role until the kitchen goes in!”
“We will still have the same Facebook and will be updating the page as needed. We will still be active on a day-to-day basis. The biggest thing I want to reiterate is that our goal is to bring our current vibe that people have known for years to the new location.”
“Miss Kitty’s is one of the last taverns in Naperville and is currently set up for live entertainment, open mic, karaoke, drag bingo nights, etc., so we are going to explore all the possible options with entertainment. We want everybody to feel at home; It will essentially be finding the balance between The Can and Miss Kitty’s vibes,” Matt added.
