Tavern at Turner, the new bar and restaurant at Turner Hall in downtown Milwaukee, will open early next month– just in time for the Milwaukee Bucks to host its first preseason home game at the nearby Fiserv Forum on Oct. 3 against the Chicago Bulls.
Mike Eitel, CEO of Caravan Hospitality Group, in July signed a lease for bar and restaurant space inside Turner Hall, located at 1034 Vel R. Phillips Ave., after its previous restaurant closed earlier this year. The Turner Hall ballroom is operated by the Pabst Theater Group, who took over the space in 2007.
“Collaborating with the Pabst Theater Group to bring this space back to life is truly exciting for me personally—they’ve done such amazing things for this town by elevating the entertainment scene here and now we have the chance to help make Turner Hall something really special again,” Eitel said in a news release.
Eitel also owns Nomad World Pubs in Milwaukee and Madison, SportClub in downtown Milwaukee, and Nomad Nacional, a pop-up bar in Walker’s Point.
Tavern at Turner will serve a variety of appetizers, and entrees, including burgers, salads, tacos, sandwiches, and a Friday fish fry. It will also offer a late night menu, featuring global cuisine.
“Turner Hall Ballroom sat empty for decades until we hosted our first show on October 26, 2007,” said Gary Witt, CEO of the Pabst Theater Group. “But in our almost 11 years there, the experience for every show goer has always been incomplete without a food and beverage partner in that beautiful space.”
Eitel is revitalizing the space to house three separate areas. The main dining room and tavern features bar tables, TVs and a pool table; the “Palm Garden” room will be used for private events, but will function as a lounge and game space when not booked for events; and “the parlor” room offers banquet seating and a “darker, more intimate vibe.”
Renovations to the space are almost complete, and the menu is being finalized.
“Soon, people will be able to once again catch a drink or even have dinner before or after a show in the ballroom upstairs or over at events at the new Forum,” Eitel said. “The timing was perfect and sitting right in the heart of the new entertainment district allows us to be part of the amazing revitalization happening in this area of downtown.”
Tavern at Turner will be open on weekdays from 4 p.m. to close, and on weekends from 10 a.m. to close.
