Turning Tables Introducing New Team, New Menu

Turning Tables Tavern & Eatery is located inside Turner Hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Turning Tables Tavern & Eatery is turning over a new leaf.

After just over one year in business, the restaurant, which doubles as a teaching kitchen for aspiring restaurateurs, is preparing to introduce new team members and a fresh menu of signature dishes at a Sept. 23 grand reopening celebration.

The event, which coincides with Doors Open Milwaukee, will take place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 1034 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. Turning Tables is located inside Turner Hall, which is among more than 130 Doors Open sites this year.

The details of the new menu remain under wraps for now; however, owner Emerald Mills shared that the restaurant will change up its daily offerings with fish fry Fridays, family-style Saturdays and soul food Sundays, following the reopening.

Mills said she expects the weekend specials to be “really fun, good and popular,” adding that she’s excited to offer guests the opportunity to branch out and try a variety of menu items that aren’t typically available.

The menu will also receive a boost from upcoming graduates of the Incubator Kitchen Entrepreneur Program (IKEP), led by Jervel Williams. Those who complete the 10-week program, which recently welcomed its second cohort, can apply to operate out of the Turning Tables space, where they are free to pursue catering or other business opportunities while featuring a signature dish — the Chef’s Special — on the restaurant’s menu.

Initially, Mills said, the goal was to feature at least one IKEP graduate. But the chefs surpassed her expectations. “We had at least four food-based entrepreneurs that we work closely with right now,” she said. “And just the fact that we got the program done — with everything else that was going on — and we are on our second cohort now is a major accomplishment.”

Grand reopening attendees will be the first to experience potential Chef’s Specials, and will have the opportunity to weigh in on which dishes they’d most like to see on a future menu.

Although Mills had plenty of highlights to share from the past year, she said the experience hasn’t been without complications.

“We did face a lot of challenges and had to be really creative and innovative to just get through the year,” she said. “Anybody who’s been in the industry understands it and I think anyone who came around and got support — to some degree — understood it, too. I do think it’s important, that story, to tell.”

As the restaurant enters its second year, Mills is expanding her focus beyond just what’s on the plate. That means bringing on additional hands, including a new chef and a part-time operations manager, who Mills said are helping to “provide a better quality of service.”

Turning Tables will also host the second installment of its Who Wants to be a Restaurateur, tentatively set for October. Last year’s event took place ahead of the restaurant’s grand opening. “It was a really good experience for entrepreneurs,” said Mills, who added that many participants went on to land “some really great opportunities.”

In particular, one competitor is now the personal chef for a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. “There’s been a lot of positive things that have come out of it for us and for the food-based entrepreneurs,” she said.

Turning Tables will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. The grand reopening event will begin at 5 p.m. with a cocktail tasting and the new menu reveal. Table reservations begin at 6 p.m. and are available to book online.

Until then, Turning Tables will be open Sept. 15 through 18 and 21 through 22 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Following the reopening, updated hours will be posted online.

Food-based entrepreneurs who are interested in joining IKEP can register online.