Walking through the doors of Maida Trattoria, guests are greeted by rustic wood floors and walls filled with over 22 years of rich familial history. Behind all the elegance and flair is a family with a heart for sharing Italian flavors and a growing, loving, true community.
Sitting at the heart of downtown Fort Collins, Maida is a local, family-run Italian restaurant inspired by the small town of Maida in southern Italy — where the owners’ family immigrated from in the early 1900s. McCabe and Marli Callahan have been in the restaurant business for the over 20 years, operating the beloved Mugs in Fort Collins as well.
Maida Trattoria opened its doors nine months ago and has adapted significantly to the Fort Collins community. The restaurant calls the old Avery Building its home, passionately working to bring energy back into the space.
Savannah Nickerson is the marketing manager and also works as a server at Maida; she was one of the first hires and said she has been an avid lover of Mugs. She said she admires how the Callahans have been welcomed to the Fort Collins cultural scene and how they have chosen to carry on their family’s heritage through special recipes, joyful gathering and authenticity.
“To breathe life back into this building has been such a touch of their knowledge of what Fort Collins is missing,” Nickerson said. “And how can we provide it to them, so that it brings love and experience and culture back into this beautiful and historical building.”
From their traditional chicken parmigiana and carbonara to fresh shrimp cocktail and osso buco, the Maida team prides themselves on using fresh, local ingredients and staying connected to their roots while also providing a memorable and loving dining experience.
“You’re just not just painting a picture, but you’re painting an experience and a memory.” –Adam Salvaggio, front of house manager
Executive chef Carlos Aguirre said he immediately clicked with McCabe Callahan upon meeting him, discovering a shared passion for serving an experience through food. Some of the key values that Maida strives to uphold are family, professionalism and imperfect yet beautiful experiences.
“It’s not only to feed them, it’s the connection and the experience,” Aguirre said. “To be able to sit and chat while we’re eating is one of the best pleasures in human life. It’s a privilege for me to be here and where I am right now.”
Aguirre said he likes connecting with local vendors such as Hazel Dell mushrooms and other microgreen farms, and he holds a greater appreciation for those who cultivate those ingredients.
“I started wondering how I can contribute to my community by working with them,” Aguirre said. “I grew up in a farm, so I feel really connected to them. It’s such a pleasure and an honor to work with my local vendors.”
Adam Salvaggio is a front of house manager and said he fell in love with the owners and their passionate ideas for Maida. He expressed excitement to be a part of the Maida family that has learned to take care of each other.
“That is true family to me,” Salvaggio said. “It is always 360-degrees, everyone making sure we’re all good, and then that turns into the greatest customer experience we can provide for the others here. And I think that’s just truly beautiful, and it’s a very hard thing to create.”
Nickerson said she appreciates that Maida already has regulars coming in frequently, establishing strong connections since the restaurant’s opening. She said she loves the community and how the bonds between the team and customers can be seen every day throughout her shift.
“I come to work with a smile on my face every day; that is not something that I know that a lot of people in the restaurant industry can say,” Nickerson said. “These people have become more than just coworkers to me, so I really love the atmosphere and the culture that has been cultivated since day one.”
As a fellow Italian, Salvaggio found there is a beauty in creating food from the Callahan’s traditional recipes — from the sauce to the meatballs that have transcended generations of families. It helps to elevate a standard recipe and establish an authentic and almost nostalgic experience.
“When you bite into that kind of food, you’re having an essence of what everyone (who) grew up in that time (ate), sitting with their grandparents, their nanas,” Salvaggio said. “You’re just not just painting a picture, but you’re painting an experience and a memory.”
Julia Mays also works as a front of house manager. She had originally been in the restaurant industry in Boulder, Colorado, before McCabe Callahan collected her resume from another business and she started working at Maida.
The holidays held some special memories for the team at Maida and showcased how their space truly reflects an Italian family kitchen. Mays said Marli Callahan designed most of the building, curating the seat furnishings to the pictures on the wall through thrifting and gathering stuff from her own home.
“(Marli was) able to bring that energy to the community and bring that link,” Mays said. “When you come here, you’re here to be with your friends, here to be with your family. It’s comfortable for everyone. No matter who you are, you’re welcome here, and that’s what we want.”
Mays said she values the growing relationship that Maida has established with the community, hoping that they will only continue to grow and improve, finding more ways to make Maida more special to Fort Collins.
“There’s just so much love tied into this location and this building and this space that has been a part of Fort Collins for so long,” Mays said. “The fact that we’ve been able to build off of that and establish ourselves here has been incredible.”
Reach Sananda Chandy at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
