Meet Dan Maguire of Ciao! Mobile Pizzeria & Street Food

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Maguire.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Owners Dan & Jenn met in 2014 working in the fine dining world at Game Creek Restaurant in Vail, CO. As F&B industry “lifers” the couple quickly connected through their passion for travel, culture and badass food and drink. Over the next few years, Dan would rise to the roll of Executive Chef at Game Creek and Jenn would take on the role of Executive Pastry Chef at the Arrabelle at Vail Square. Both were able to obtain several accolades including Forbes Stars and write-ups in Food & Wine Magazine. Throughout their travels, their hearts seemed to stay in Italy (Dan’s family’s home turf) having eaten their way from the Northern Alps to the Sicilian coast. Throughout their travels in Italy, pizza was always present; giving the duo the opportunity to sample styles from all over the peninsula.

After extended stays in both Napoli and Fierenzi, Dan & Jenn realized there was an opportunity to bring the flavors and culture of Italy back to Colorado. In the spring of 2020, the duo prepared to share these experiences in a brick and mortar restaurant in the Loveland/Fort Collins area….. Lo and behold, the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans. After some quick thinking, hard pivoting and more than a little bit of cursing, the concept was transformed into CIAO! Mobile Pizzeria & Street Food. Dan & Jenn cannot wait to share their passion for good, traditional Neapolitan pizza and Italian “street food” with Colorado.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Much like the roads we pull our trailer on, the journey has been bumpy, uneven and full of pot holes. Two people who have never pulled a trailer before buying a brand new 18-foot trailer, filling it with kitchen equipment and calling it a “restaurant on wheels” defiantly came with its own set of “new” experiences. Needless to say, we are both now EXTREMELY proficient at hitching and un-hitching, backing up and changing tires. We knew we would be busy, and hoped we would become popular but definitely underestimated the demand for our pizza. We have found ourselves having to make far more dough in less than a year than we had ever anticipated. Also, Jenn has become FAR better at manning the ovens than she had ever planned to be.

As you know, we’re big fans of Ciao! Mobile Pizzeria & Street Food. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We specialize in Neapolitan style pizza, meaning we use a sourdough starter and our curst is airy and crispy at the same time. Our pizzas are cooked in specially designed ovens that reach 900 degrees (F) resulting in an incredible and unique pizza experience. Very few restaurants or trucks are offering a true, authentic Neapolitan style pizza in Colorado. For something besides pizza we offer a variety of desserts and street food like potato croquettes, fried zucchini, a variety of sandwiches, Italian donuts and, dare we say, the best Cannoli in Colorado. We take extreme pride in the quality of our ingredients. Our flour and tomatoes are imported directly from Italy. Our cheese is made by a small artisan farm in Connecticut that Dan had the opportunity to work with while “making his bones” as a chef in New England. Our meats and veggies are as local as possible and all of our sausages are made by local artisans. Everything on the truck is made from scratch. We are found all over the Northern Colorado region and offer several catering options as well. We are looking forward to providing our services for several weddings this coming summer.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
COVID has changed the way we go out. Period. While we will of course get back to some sort of “normal” the F&B and hospitality industry has and will continue to change in big ways. We believe there will continue to be a focus on outdoor dinning, take out/to go options and dinning “on the go” People are dying to gather again but the way they do so will look different. Instead of packing there people deep into the local dive, they may be keener on hanging out in open, public spaces. And now with some local liquor ordinances becoming laxer on where consumption is allowed the party may continue to move elsewhere and we will see more proprietors and vendors looking to capitalize upon that shift.

Pricing:

• $10- The classic Neapolitan “margarita pizza”
• Dessert <$6 including zeppole and Cannoli
• “Street Food” and Apps <$10

Contact Info:

• Email: reubenrestaurantgroup@gmail.com
• Website: www.ciaomobilepizza.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ciaomobilenoco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ciaomobilenoco
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/ciaomobilenoco

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