Turning Tables Tavern at Turner Hall creates opportunity for chefs and brings a diverse dining team downtown

Emerald Mills is creating opportunity for restaurateurs, specifically chefs of color, unlike anything else currently in Milwaukee.

At Turning Tables Tavern, which opened in August at 1040 N. Phillips Ave. under Turner Hall Ballroom, Mills has created a space for up-and-coming chefs to collaborate on an expansive, ever-changing menu.

The concept at Turning Tables is to give chefs who don’t have service industry experience a chance to see if their dishes translate to a restaurant setting.

“It is focused on people who want to learn,” Mills said. “There is such a gap. The amount of people who need support is so large right now as food-based entrepreneurs and chefs in the hospitality industry.”

Mills largely focuses on supporting future Black restaurant owners.