ALEX BROOKS FINE Catering and Gourmet Alternative, two of Denver's leading catering operations, have merged to form Gourmet Fine Catering. The new company, which is second in revenue in the Denver area to market leader Epicurean Catering, according to former Alex Brooks president Syd Sexton, will operate out of a 10,000-square-foot downtown space occupied by Sexton's company.

Sexton, who will serve as president of the new operation, said her upscale custom-catering company did not compete with high-volume caterer Gourmet Alternative, but rather the two served different markets. The merger, she said, will allow the companies to continue generating revenue from the two segments while sharing overhead expenses and consolidating resources.

The combined companies' services will include custom menu planning and event design as well as menu-based event catering and corporate box lunches. Current business includes contracts with the Denver Grand Prix, Denver's Central City Opera and the upscale Parkside Mansion as well as weddings, corporate galas and fund-raisers.

“What I bring to the table is party design and marketing,” Sexton explained. Her partners — Gourmet Alternative's Darby Donohue and Kent Kidwell, serving the new company as CEO and operations manager respectively — “have an amazing culinary team,” she added. The merger, she said, allows the company's principals to “bring to the table the best of what we do, and leave out the worst.” She continued, “By having three partners, I feel like any weaknesses our customers may have experienced in the past are gone. The consistency and level of service is so high, we can now go back to those customers and say, ‘This is who we are.’”

Gourmet Fine Catering 2601 Blake St., Denver, CO 80205; 303/825-4545

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