Third Ward Hosting Outdoor Community Dinner
Sold-out event will feature six-course meal prepared by neighborhood's standout chefs.
The inaugural Gather: A Long Table Dinner took place in 2022. Photo courtesy of Historic Third Ward Association.
A handful of Milwaukee’s most notable chefs will take their talents to the streets Thursday — not via food truck or to-go box, but rather for an al fresco community dinner.
The annual Gather: A Long Table Dinner, organized by the Historic Third Ward Association, is set for Aug. 24 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., on the stretch of E. Buffalo Street just west of N. Water Street, adjacent to the Riverwalk.
The 100 Milwaukeeans who were lucky enough to snag a ticket before sellout will enjoy a family-style dinner, celebrating the neighborhood’s culture and community while sitting elbow-to-elbow with fellow foodies.
Similar to last year’s inaugural dinner, attendees will be seated at a single, long table — impeccably decorated with florals and fairy lights. Warmed by heat lamps (though that may not be necessary this year) and sheltered from nearby traffic, the narrow table will seat 50 guests on each side, creating plenty of opportunity for lively conversation.
The main event, a six-course meal dreamt up by the culinary minds behind DanDan/EsterEv, Onesto, Bavette La Boucherie, Saffron and Tre Rivali, will take place at 6 p.m.
But first, a pre-dinner Mix & Mingle, sponsored by the Third Ward’s newest restaurant, The Edison, will kick off at 5 p.m.
Throughout the evening, guests can expect wine pairings from 2A Wine Merchants — whose owners recently opened the much-lauded 1033 in Walker’s Point.
Cafe Benelux will handle dessert, ending the evening’s festivities on a sweet note.
Sponsors for the dinner include Joseph Property Development, AESTHETICS 360°, Urban Law, Metro Eye and Harley’s for Men. In-kind sponsors include Relics Rentals, MOD GEN and Benson’s Restaurant Group.
The “long table” concept is Milwaukee’s take on a rising trend throughout Wisconsin and the United States, which aims to connect community members and combat loneliness by way of a shared meal.
For many, the pandemic fundamentally altered their approach to and relationship with restaurant dining — a fact that restaurateurs continue to grapple with amid the industry’s slow comeback.
Even now, large swaths of the population find themselves — whether by choice, habit or necessity — distanced from the longstanding culture of eating out.
Long table dinners, such as those held in Denver, Lake Geneva and here in Milwaukee are working to change that, inviting guests to lean into community while continuing to advance the burgeoning farm-to-table movement as seasonal eating becomes exponentially more important in the face of climate change.
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ah, yes, let’s connect community members who can pay nearly $200 for a ticket. they don’t know each other, poor dears.