Mercantile is the culmination of Chef Alex Seidel’s two previous ventures, Fruition Restaurant and Fruition Farms.
Opened in 2007, Fruition Restaurant is a showcase of Chef Seidel’s passion to create approachable, top quality food without the pretense (and price tag) of fine dining. It is perennially honored as one of the top restaurants in Colorado and helped earn Chef Seidel a spot on Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef list in 2010.
In 2009, driven by a desire to learn more about food sourcing and production, Chef Seidel purchased a small farm outside of Denver that would soon become Fruition Farms. Along with raising Heritage Breed hogs, Italian Honey bees, and a fruit and vegetable garden, the 10-acre plot is home to East Fresian dairy sheep that serve as the foundation of the artisanal sheep’s milk creamery, the first of its kind in Colorado.
Mercantile represents the next evolution in Chef Seidel’s vision of approachability and transparency in dining. Beyond what is offered in the dining room or the marketplace, Mercantile is looking to bridge the information gap between farmer and consumer. In connecting the dots, we hope to instill in our guests the same appreciation we have for those involved at each step in the process of going from farm to table. From farmer to shepherd to chef to server, each had a hand in both preserving and dictating the story that each dish tells.
