Chef Theo Adley is preparing to debut a new player in Denver’s dining scene. Westword reports the esteemed restaurateur will open an eatery called Heretík this winter, at 1441 26th Street.
A press release describes Heretík as an intimate, raw-bar-anchored dining room emphasizing seafood and American-raised heritage poultry. The restaurant will draw culinary influence from northeast Spain and southern France, and its centerpiece will be French heritage “cou-nou” rotisserie chicken. Its wine program will feature producers from the Pays Basque and Côte d’Argent regions, with a focus on small, family-run operations.
This project marks his second standalone venture, after building a deeply loyal following at his restaurant Marigold in Lyons, which opened in July 2022 and earned him a James Beard nomination for Best Chef: Mountain Region. That venue has also been recognized on Wine Enthusiast’s “Best Wine Restaurants in America” and 5280 Magazine’s “Top 25 Restaurants in Denver” two years in a row.
Heretík will take over the former space of short-lived Koko Ni. The venture brings Adley back to RiNo, where he once served as executive chef of the beloved and now-closed The Populist. His résumé also spans some of Colorado’s most respected kitchens, including The Little Nell, Dunton Hot Springs, Flagstaff House, and The Squeaky Bean.
