Chef Carlos Montoya had no idea that learning how to make rice from his mother as a teenager would turn into a lifetime in the kitchen. Carlos’s plans to be a graphic artist were upended when a college counselor asked him about his true passion. “I had worked in my neighbor’s restaurant kitchen through high school and I was drawn to the chaos,” he says, laughing. “My passion was cooking.”

After attending the renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Carlos spent his formative years in his native New York City, honing his culinary skills in many different restaurants. In 2009 he found an ad on Craigslist for a position at a restaurant on the Cape. “The Cape” was actually the Vineyard, and the restaurant in “an old Victorian house” was The Sweet Life in Oak Bluffs. Carlos was hired as sous chef and his Island life began. He eventually moved to the Edgartown Yacht Club, became head chef at the Café at Farm Neck Golf Club and chef de cuisine at Garde East before returning to The Sweet Life.

But in 2018 Carlos wanted a change and relocated to Boston, learning invaluable lessons in operating a fast-casual concept and opening a restaurant from the ground up. Working with Cushman Concepts, a Boston-based culinary group, he opened Gogo Ya in Time Out Market Boston as well as the second location for the American cuisine-focused Bianca. But on the second day of business at Bianca in Chestnut Hill, Covid shuttered the restaurant industry. A call from a friend at the Harbor View Hotel brought Carlos back to the Island as culinary director. After that position was eliminated, Carlos decided to pivot to private events.

Carlos worked year-round as a private chef, all the while developing a business plan for his own restaurant. His very first client would prove fortuitous. It was during a family dinner that the name “the maker” was born. “I was cooking for my client, and his family and grandchildren were over for dinner,” Carlos says. “His three-year-old grandson asked for something to eat and said, ‘I want the maker to make it. He makes us delicious dinners.’” And with that, Carlos became the maker, a name he would carry forward to his own restaurant.

It was also during this time that he met his life and business partner, Sheenagh Caridi. With her years of restaurant and hospitality experience, including managing The Newes from America, Sheenagh was game to run the front of the house for the new restaurant they envisioned. Sheenagh had started a dog walking and training business during the pandemic, completing a master dog training course. “And then I fell in love with a chef!” she says with a laugh.

The former Little House Café location in Vineyard Haven was a dream for the duo, who had started looking for available spaces in 2024. With 32 seats, parking spaces and two kitchens, they knew they could execute the restaurant, private events and pasta production they envisioned. It seemed The Maker had found a home. Carlos was also happy that prep cook Jose Rodriguez was willing to stay on and work with them, noting he has been invaluable in assisting with the myriad tasks a restaurant kitchen requires.

“We wanted a menu that offered local, seasonal fare and that was pasta-driven but not necessarily an Italian restaurant,” says Carlos of their plan for The Maker Pasta Shop & Caf é . “I have a love for pasta and it’s the vessel to showcase the ingredients available to us.” Carlos and Sheenagh invested in an Arcobaleno pasta extruder, a high-end professional pasta machine that allows them to produce bucatini, fettucine and lumache (a snail-shaped pasta) for both the restaurant and wholesale orders. Carlos also makes mezzaluna, a half-moon shape, by hand. He stuffs it with roasted eggplant, ricotta and lemon.

Much of the restaurant’s produce is sourced from Island purveyors, including greens from Morning Glory Farm; scallops from local fishing vessel Martha Rose; and beef and cheese from The Grey Barn & Farm. Summer tomatoes and zucchini blossoms will come from North Tabor Farm. Along with meat and vegetable dishes, the menu also includes Carlos’s signature dish: big-eye tuna tartare with truffle ponzu, miso caramel and yuzu chips.

Sous chef Ryan Brown helps Carlos execute the menu and pastry chef Patricia Oliveira produces seasonally inspired desserts. The current dessert menu includes a vegan chocolate cake and a fresh ginger pavlova, with some ingredients reflective of Patricia’s Brazilian roots. Sheenagh has created a retail area at the front of the restaurant with locally made food items, pasta by the pound and other gift items. And the cheerful dining room reflects a cozy yet modern vibe.

Watching Carlos and Sheenagh move through their day in the fresh, welcoming space, you can see that they clearly embody their restaurant’s mantra: Keep calm and pasta on.

 

Laura Holmes Haddad is a former cookbook editor and regular contributor to The Vine .

 

 

The Maker Pasta Shop & Café 339 State Road, Vineyard Haven

508-687-9794

Lunch: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.

Pasta Shop: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Reservations accepted and highly encouraged

@themakermv

themakerpastashop.com

Note: The Maker’s liquor license is pending