Whitaker bets Id Est's 1,000-acre grain pipeline on Oklahoma City

Two years after buying the 18-seat chef's counter Nonesuch in Oklahoma City's Midtown, Kelly Whitaker is staking his grain pipeline on a market most fine-dining groups would have written off. His Boulder, Colorado-based Id Est Hospitality oversees about 1,000 acres of regeneratively-grown heritage grain across three states. He's now asking Oklahoma farmers to join in.

Whitaker acquired Nonesuch in 2024, six years after Bon Appétit had named it America's Best New Restaurant. He runs Id Est from Boulder. The group's Colorado restaurants include Basta, Brutø, and the Wolf's Tailor in Denver, an early U.S. restaurant to focus on fermentation. Dry Storage, the group's Boulder-based bakery, doubles as its commercial grain mill.

Why does OKC matter to a Boulder operator?

Whitaker didn't plan on it. He grew up partly in Oklahoma City and left unimpressed with the dining scene. "I said, 'It's not gonna turn a corner and all of a sudden someone's going to think of Oklahoma City as like a Portland or an Austin or something,'" he recalled.

He now calls it "one of the most interesting growth cities in America, by far." The reason is partly infrastructure: Oklahoma City is hosting some 2028 Olympic events, and new development is pulling chefs, artists, and neighborhoods into alignment. "There's just an absolute collective — it's almost like a magic formula," Whitaker said.

What does the grain supply chain actually change?

Nonesuch executive chef Garrett Hare shares Whitaker's farm-to-counter approach, and Oklahoma's wheat country made the link obvious. "Oklahoma's mostly oil and gas, but wheat grows really well there," Whitaker said.

Through Dry Storage, Id Est has worked with 13 farmers to grow Antero Wheat, Ryman Rye, and other heritage varieties on roughly 1,000 acres in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Whitaker has now contacted local Oklahoma tribes about more uses for heritage corn.

"That was not happening ten years ago," he said of the regional grain network.

The economic logic is plain: a 1,000-acre grain program gives one restaurant group a buffer against commodity price swings, plus a marketing story diners will pay a premium check to hear. "There are lots of opportunities, but you need to create demand," Whitaker said. "You need restaurants to buy it for them to grow it."

What changes for Nonesuch's dining room?

Nonesuch remains an 18-seat counter, and the menu leans on house-milled grains, fermented produce, and proteins sourced within a tight regional radius. Whitaker is also developing a reworked bar at the restaurant called Somesuch.

For operators watching from outside OKC, the practical question is whether a Boulder-based group can run a flagship fine-dining unit far from its headquarters and still source grains at scale from a third state. Whitaker's answer is that he has to. "I'm also encouraged by the conversations I've had with some of the folks who are building new infrastructure," he said. "They're having meetings with us, so Nonesuch can help inform what's going on."

What's next for Id Est in Oklahoma?

Whitaker says he's committed. "We're in for the long haul," he said. The next test is whether the heritage-grain pipeline Whitaker is pitching in Oklahoma can match the 1,000 acres he already runs out of Boulder. It also depends on whether Nonesuch's 18 seats can stay full while the city around it grows into an Olympic host.