Photography provided by Aura Groupe
He has built a Twin Cities restaurant empire and a national name for himself, and now Gavin Kaysen has expanded his culinary reach to the Sunshine State. The two-time James Beard Award winner grew up spending time in Naples and has partnered with Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis on Mara, so this seemed like a natural fit. So how does The Merchant Room fit into Kaysen’s family of eateries?
“Spoon and Stable is my first born and is genuinely my favorite,” he says. “Demi is the high-touch middle child, and Bellecour is the rambunctious one, because the personality shifts from day to night. I only have three kids to compare to, so I would say that The Merchant Room is a distant cousin in many respects.” A cousin with whom one might have, say, shared childhood Florida family vacations.
Spoon and Stable regulars will recognize some menu staples, such as the spaghetti nero, tamarind-glazed pork chop and creamy spinach with fried cheese curds. Alongside those favorites are destination-forward New American dishes that make the most of Florida’s fresh ingredients, which obviously differ from what’s in season in the Midwest. It’s a fun challenge Kaysen has encountered before, like when he simultaneously ran Café Boulud in both New York City and Palm Beach.
While developing the concept, he frequently made the migration south, and he still regularly visits to ensure everything at The Merchant Room is up to par. A happy byproduct, of course, is escaping the cold and spending some time in the sunshine. “Naples has a beautiful Gulf coastline, and you get the best sunsets in the world,” says Kaysen. “It’s a very spiritual thing to wake up in the morning and walk on the beach, then finish a busy workday sitting on the terrace just listening to the ocean waves.”
