by Lynn Cline on
STRINGS OF GLOWING outdoor bulbs illuminate Tender Fire Kitchen’s expansive patio packed with couples, families, and friends savoring slices of wood-fired sourdough pizza. Buzzy conversations fill the air, along with the enticing scents of artisan pies such as pepperoni with pickled jalapeños, and roasted mushroom drizzled with a bright, zesty sauce that blends cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, garlic, vinegar, citrus, and Dijon. The vibe is warm and inviting, as if everyone is part of one big gathering.
“Pizza makes people so happy,” says owner and chef Ben Crosky, who opened Tender Fire in Santa Fe as a pop-up business in 2020. “It’s a nice way to bring people together.” Over six years, he’s amassed a devoted following for his sourdough pizzas baked in a mobile oven and topped with local organic ingredients, which he’s served at El Rey Court, Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery, and other venues and events.
In April, Crosky put down roots in the emerging Midtown District, across the street from the new Sky Cinemas Midtown, on the former Santa Fe University of Art and Design campus. Other projects planned for Midtown include a Second Street Brewery taproom, a visual arts center, and residential apartments. “This place is literally in the center of Santa Fe geographically,” Crosky says. “I thought we could add something extra
special to it.”
Crosky oversaw every detail of transforming the former fitness center building into the stylish restaurant. Working with general manager and interior designer Vanessa Nemec, he set the mood with soft desert tones complemented by an indoor cacti garden and dinnerware, tables, and planters handcrafted in Guadalajara, Mexico. At the bar, the open kitchen offers a tantalizing view of 12-inch pies emerging from an Italian stone pizza oven.
“I call it Mexi-terranean,” Crosky says of the expanded menu, which blends Mediterranean and Mexican flavors. Small plates include cold roasted carrots with spicy avocado sauce and almond-pepita crumble, plus wood-fired charred cornbread topped with a pool of whipped butter and honey sea salt. The refreshing drink menu includes the High Desert Colada, which mixes mezcal with pineapple, cucumber, and banana-coconut liqueur. “We have a lot of mezcal,” he offers.
Remarkably, Crosky never made pizza until he moved to Santa Fe from the Bay Area in 2019, where he owned a company providing yoga retreats around the world. “Each retreat was a little bit different, but we always had yoga, wellness, and good food,” he says. “A lot of the special moments took place at the table.”
His craving for the Bay Area’s renowned sourdough led him to start baking his own. The natural next step was hosting a sourdough pizza party. “Forty people showed up,” he says. “I made pizza all night.”
Now, he bakes pizza for 200 guests a night, and the sourdough crust is a big part of the draw. “It’s a three-day fermented process,” he says. “It’s what we’re known for.” But Crosky has bigger aspirations. He’s working on launching a morning cafe and expanding the menu. “Our pizzas will grow and change over time,” he says, just like Tender Fire itself, as it settles into its hip new space in a growing neighborhood.