'Homey and comfortable': Little Bird Bakeshop reopens in former Canino's building

Erin Udell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·2 min read

Little Bird Bakeshop officially has a new nest.

The Fort Collins bakery opened in its new location March 20, taking over the longtime former home of Canino's Italian Restaurant, 613 S. College Ave.

The move gives Little Bird Bakeshop more breathing room with the new South College Avenue location affording the bakery 50% more seating and kitchen preparation space than its former shop in Old Town Square, owner Amy Corliss told the Coloradoan March 29.

The need for a larger location was more pressing in recent years as it became harder for the bakery to function in its notably smaller downtown space, Corliss said. When Clyde Canino announced his retirement — and, with it, the closure of his long-lived Fort Collins restaurant Canino's — last year, Corliss said she and her husband jumped at the chance to make the restaurant Little Bird Bakeshop's new home.

They quickly got to work renovating the building — a stately American Foursquare-style house built in 1905 and 1906 for early Fort Collins businessman Franklin Corbin. Changes included refinishing the home's quartersawn oak woodwork, peeling up layers of old flooring to reveal its original hardwood, repainting its walls, remodeling its bathroom to be more accessible and adding a gas fireplace to its main floor, Corliss said.

Renovations also unearthed some of the building's history, including a fraternity seal Corliss said was found under layers of flooring in the home's former entryway and ultimately preserved. The house was home to the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity from roughly 1952 to 1962, according to city directories.

A symbol for a fraternity is fixed to the floor at Little Bird Bakeshop on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Fort Collins. The bakery reopened in a new location in the former Canino's and discovered the insignia during renovations.
A symbol for a fraternity is fixed to the floor at Little Bird Bakeshop on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Fort Collins. The bakery reopened in a new location in the former Canino's and discovered the insignia during renovations.

Corliss said she was drawn to the building because of its character and charm. As a former home, it has several interconnected rooms, nooks and crannies fit for coffee drinking, as well as a bright and airy front sunroom and several stained-glass windows which filter colorful sunbeams through the cozy space.

"It just feels homey and comfortable, and it's been a community gathering space for so long now," Corliss said.

Karen Folger, center left, and Ellen Switzer drink coffee and eat bostocks at Little Bird Bakeshop on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Fort Collins. The bakery reopened in its new location at 613 S. College Avenue, which Canino's formerly occupied prior to its closing.
Karen Folger, center left, and Ellen Switzer drink coffee and eat bostocks at Little Bird Bakeshop on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Fort Collins. The bakery reopened in its new location at 613 S. College Avenue, which Canino's formerly occupied prior to its closing.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Little Bird Bakeshop reopens after renovating former Canino's building