 He was the recipient of the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef Southwest in 1998 and was executive chef and owner of his famous namesake restaurant, Alex, in Las Vegas until its closure on January 15, 2011.He was later diagnosed with colon cancer and became a cancer survivor.He was the executive chef and owner of "Tapas by Alex Stratta" in the affluent Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin, until it closed in 2015.