MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee business is working to give other Black-owned businesses in the restaurant industry a pathway to success.
Emerald Mills is the co-owner of Turning Tables Tavern. She owns the business with her husband. Mills said she wanted to create a way to support future Black restaurant owners.
“The restaurant success rate is very low,” said Mills. “It’s extremely low when it comes to minorities in this industry.”
The National Restaurant Association said only 2% of Wisconsin restaurants are Black-owned.
It’s why Mills and her husband started the Incubator Kitchen Entrepreneur Program (IKEP). IKEP teaches chefs and future owners everything they need to know about attaining success in the food industry.
“We exist to help make sure that people get the proper first start and are able to start with the proper support,” said Mills.
Evelyn Lopez is one of many the program has helped. Lopez said she has always had a passion for cooking.
As a child, Lopez watched her grandmother make special recipes, which she said always made her feel inspired.
“I was actually raised by my grandmother and great-grandmother on a farm in Puerto Rico,” said Lopez. “A lot of the food we cooked, we grew ourselves.”
She launched her business, Latin Soul Kitchen, earlier this year. She serves food that’s a fusion of her Latina and African American culture.
“I never strayed from it,” she said. “It was always very important to me to make sure that I kept both of my heritages alive… because you really can’t have one without the other. It’s all pretty much rooted in the same culture and traditions. A lot of it is inspired from African roots.”
Lopez said she couldn’t have done it without IKEP.
“This is something you can do by yourself, but it will be 10 times harder than if you reach out into the community and see what kind of resources you can receive,” she said.
Lopez works out of the shared kitchen space for her popular catering orders. She’s looking forward to the day when her doors will finally open.
If you’re interested in joining the next cohort, you can apply here.