Alex Seidel is starting to feel the weight of his 36-year career in the kitchen. Just in the past five, he’s had surgeries on his feet and back as a result of “long hours and standing,” he said.
And since the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s been “working towards simplifying my life.” In 2021, he sold Fruition Farms and Creamery in Larkspur, where he produced artisan cheese and sourced meat and produce from for his restaurants, Fruition and Mercantile Dining & Provision.
This week, Seidel took another step: He sold a majority stake in Mercantile to formidable Denver-based hotelier and restaurant operator Sage Hospitality, which runs Denver Union Station, where Mercantile is located, along with many other well-known Denver properties.
He is the second major restaurateur to step away from one of Denver’s legacy kitchens in recent weeks. Crafted Concepts founders Jen Jasinski and Beth Gruitch announced in early August that they were leaving Ultreia and Bistro Vendome and closing up shop at Stoic & Genuine; Ultreia and Stoic & Genuine are also located in Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop St.
“I want to spend more time with my family before my kids are out of the house,” Seidel said. “My son was born two months before I opened Fruition, and now they’re both in high school, which are some of the most formative years, so I want to commit more time to the important things.”
Seidel opened Mercantile in 2014, following the success of his first restaurant, Fruition. Four years later, he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef of America’s Southwest and earned a name for himself nationally for his focus on farm-to-table cooking. In 2023, Mercantile earned a spot on the inaugural Colorado Michelin Guide’s list of recommended restaurants.
But Seidel has been handling the administrative parts of running his own restaurant group for 18 years and decided he wanted to bring on a company like Sage — headed up by CEO Walter Isenberg — which can handle the pressure of these tasks at a high level.
“We spoke about opportunities to grow the brand in other cities and hotels,” Seidel said. “There’s a huge potential for the future of Mercantile, but I don’t want to do it on my own in that capacity.”
Seidel now has 35 percent ownership in Mercantile, while Sage owns 65 percent and will operate the restaurant on a day-to-day basis. Sage doesn’t own Mercantile’s recently opened Denver International Airport location, however, “The airport provided an opportunity to feed the world, and Sage is creating an opportunity for the brand to grow and get in front of more people,” Seidel said.
But Seidel has no plans to sell Fruition, although he does hope to pass it on to executive chef Jarred Russell at some point in the future.