Exploring Life & Business with Marli & McCabe Callahan of Mugs Coffee & Maida Trattoria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mugs Coffee & Maida Trattoria Owners: Marli & McCabe Callahan.

Hi Mugs Coffee & Maida Trattoria, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Marli and McCabe Callahan first met in 2003—Marli as a CSU student and McCabe as a freshly graduated, fast-growing part of the Mugs Coffee team. Seven years later, they were married, and for more than 20 years they’ve been building Mugs together. McCabe is the visionary, Marli is the detail-driven heart behind the scenes.

In 2025, the Callahans expanded their love for Fort Collins, good food, and family by opening Maida Trattoria in the iconic Avery Building in Old Town. The restaurant’s name honors their family lineage,tracing back to Maida, Italy.

Today, Mugs and Maida is a true labor of love—dedicated to warm hospitality, thoughtful dishes, and creating a space where community comes together

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Mugs Coffee & Maida Trattoria?
Mugs on Laurel – 306 W Laurel St
Mugs Old Town – 261 S College Ave
Maida Trattoria – 100 N College Ave

Mugs is a local gem that has had a strong hold on Fort Collins residents since 2002. We are a local, family-owned business that focuses on great coffee and great food, but also takes care of our community and employees. We locally source as many of our products as possible, seek out organic and fair trade, practice responsible waste management via composting, and authentically treat people with respect. Mugs is not just another restaurant. We are a community and a family. We are baristas, bartenders and food artisans. We strive to serve quality products in a welcoming environment while offering stellar customer service. Whether it’s a hand-crafted latte, an evening cocktail, or a quality lunch spot, we aim to show the community just how much we care by offering great items in a great place at a family-friendly value.

Maida Trattoria offers handmade pastas, seasonal salads, flatbread pizzas, intriguing small plates, creative cocktails, and more—made from the inspirations of scratch family recipes with locally sourced ingredients. Maida is a family-run restaurant led by longtime Fort Collins locals with a passion for food and community. Together, this close-knit family team blends family roots, professional know-how, and a shared commitment to creating an inviting, delicious, and memorable dining experience. Maida has been built to bring people together over great food, warm hospitality, and a strong sense of community.

Maida Trattoria is also proud to call the historic Avery Building its home. Built in 1905 in the heart of Old Town Fort Collins, the Avery Building was originally home to the Avery Milling Company. This local grain mill played a vital role in the city’s agricultural roots, processing wheat and grains from nearby farms and helping to establish Fort Collins as a regional hub for commerce and food production. Constructed by J.M. Avery, the building quickly became a symbol of the city’s early growth and entrepreneurial spirit.

As Fort Collins evolved, so did the Avery Building—housing a variety of businesses and offices over the decades. During the downtown revitalization efforts of the 1980s and 1990s, the building was preserved and thoughtfully repurposed, maintaining its architectural character while gaining new life as a commercial and cultural landmark. Today, Maida Trattoria continues the tradition of bringing people together through food and community in this iconic space. We’re honored to be part of the next chapter in the Avery Building’s rich history—celebrating both the past and the future of Fort Collins with every meal we serve.

What matters most to you?
The restaurant industry is full of people from all over the world who come together to create an experience worth coming out for. As a family owned business, taking care of our own, and community, is at the core of what we do. Our community is diverse and all are welcome.

We believe that we serve our Community Through Coffee, and are proud to provide a platform to build social capital within our community. We have witnessed first hand the positive interactions that have led to meaningful relationships, friendships, business partnerships, client meetings, new found love, reunited love, and so much more. Whether it be through the lens of our sustainability journey, our ties to NoCo locals, or the care you can taste in every sip/bite at Mugs & Maida, we hope you feel the love as much as we do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maidatrattoria.com/ | https://www.mugsfortcollins.com/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/maida.trattoria.foco/ | www.instagram.com/mugsonlaurel/ | www.instagram.com/mugsoldtown/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/maidatrattoria/ | www.facebook.com/MugsatCSU/ | www.facebook.com/MugsOldTown/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/maida-trattoria-fort-collins-2 | https://www.yelp.com/biz/mugs-old-town-fort-collins