Restaurant at Turner Hall is Relocating
Turning Tables Tavern and Eatery will move to Wisconsin Avenue, with new name and service model.
Site of former Freshii, 250 E. Wisconsin Ave. Photo taken March 17, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene.
Turning Tables Tavern and Eatery will soon relocate from Turner Hall to the former Freshii space on Wisconsin Avenue. While it may seem like a big change, owner Emerald Mills said the shift will help the business fulfill its initial mission.
“We’re kind of transitioning back to our original model, which was designed to be more of a teaching kitchen — a space that can feature up-and-coming entrepreneurs and chefs,” she said. “That’s what we always wanted to do and that’s what we’ll be able to focus on primarily with the move.”
The new location, 250 E. Wisconsin Ave., will likely come with a new name: Diverse Dining. It marks the revival of a program that Mills founded in 2018 to bridge racial, social, economical and generational gaps through shared meals and conversation.
She said the title aims to carry on the essence of the program while helping patrons understand the nature of the business, which acts as a host to chefs and entrepreneurs, but is not itself a restaurant.
“The plan was to really focus on small business owners, particularly minorities,” she said. “We didn’t want to operate as a restaurant, we just wanted to operate as a vehicle to help restaurants.”
The new space is better suited to that vision, she said, both in its layout and location. Importantly, it won’t require front-of-house employees to operate, freeing up chefs and entrepreneurs to focus on preparing the best possible product.
Customers will still be able to dine on-site, but should not expect table service. Rather, meals will be assembled buffet-style with the option to eat inside or grab-and-go.
The location is also more modern, according to Mills, and comes fully furnished with kitchen equipment. The setup aims to maximize convenience and accessibility for featured chefs, allowing them to transition in and out of the space with ease.
One of those chefs will be Mills’s husband, Jervel Williams, who plans to offer a core menu from the original Turning Tables including salads, sandwiches and more featuring his signature smoked meats.
The 1,817-square-foot retail space, located at ground level of Two Fifty, was last occupied by Freshii; the health-focused restaurant closed in March 2023. The white box space is now primed for a fresh interior.
Mills said she plans to partner with local historians to create a design that honors Milwaukee neighborhoods. In turn, Diverse Dining will strive to feature significant foods from those neighborhoods. The ultimate goal, she added, is to offer the concept as a pop-up in various parts of Milwaukee.
“The idea will be to hone in on the innovation of those specific neighborhoods, but also to show how those neighborhoods connect to other Milwaukee neighborhoods,” Mills said.
Mills, whose background is in education, said the dining project has come with its share of challenges. The process also uncovered limitations in the city’s licencing process, which sometimes lacks the categorization necessary for “out-of-the-box” pursuits like Mills’s business.
“It’s not as straightforward,” she said. “It’s a difficult thing to navigate and figure out.”
She added that the past several years have been “eye-opening,” and noted that the experience gave her a brand new vantage point on how the industry works, as well as the skills needed to “pivot and survive.”
Turning Tables, which operated for a year-and-a-half at Turner Hall, will have its final regular service in the current location on April 10. This Saturday, April 13, the business plans to host a farewell reception from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The new location is slated for a quick turnaround, with plans to open in May or June. To start, the business will open during the lunch hour on weekdays. Hours will eventually ramp up to include breakfast and possible happy hours. Mills said she also plans to host private dining events, which will be more formal.
The first round of featured chefs will draw from Mills’ Incubator Kitchen Entrepreneur Program (IKEP), a 10-week training for food-based entrepreneurs. Participants who completed the program will present their cuisine during designated times for the first few months after the opening. Williams’ Mister Bar-B-Que concept and 13 others will be featured.
Mills is still seeking additional partners for the future. Interested parties can register online.
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