Turning Tables

I started Turning Tables because I believed that the hospitality industry could be better, and could do better, for the Black and Brown people working in it. Turning Tables creates a foundation for equity in the bartending community by providing mentorship, training, and a network of support for Black and Brown hospitality professionals in New Orleans. We are radically reimagining what the hospitality industry can be and driving that change through mentorship, partnership, and community. The Elevate Prize would set Turning Tables on a path toward sustainability, scalability, and growth.

Funding from the Elevate Prize would support us to serve two cohorts each year, doubling our current impact. Support from the Elevate Prize would also help grow our staff capacity, enabling me to focus more energy on partnership-building and scalability. Local partners have a strong interest in building alternate pathways into our programming, such as craft brewing, distilling, and coffee. Nationally, colleagues are eager to learn more about and replicate our model in cities across the country. Turning Tables is at a tipping point—we have proven the success of our model, and with the right support, we are positioned to have a profound impact in New Orleans and beyond.

I have worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years, holding a range of positions across the front-of-house, from dishwasher to management. As a Black man carving out a place for myself in this industry, I came across few role models who looked like me, and few managers who invested in my growth. It took me five years to move into a position outside of serving and ten years to receive a management opportunity.

These experiences shaped my understanding of what the industry was, but also what it could be. I dreamt of an industry where people—especially people of color—were trained and given the tools to succeed, and more importantly, given ownership in what they do. I started Turning Tables in 2019 because I wanted young Black and Brown people coming up in the industry to have access to mentors who shared their experiences and supervisors who invested in their success. I wanted Black and Brown people to have access to viable career pathways in the industry that fostered continued learning, creativity, and joy. I wanted people to see, and recognize, the Black community for what it is—a powerful force in the city and the culture of New Orleans.

In New Orleans, the hospitality industry is the driving force behind the city’s culture, growth, and economic opportunity. However, access to this opportunity remains fraught with bias and reflects long-standing issues of extraction and oppression, with deep roots in the history of slavery in the Gulf Coast. Despite being a majority Black city, people of color are disproportionately employed in the back-of-house and in positions with the lowest wages, longest hours, greatest health hazards, and fewest growth opportunities (Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, 2010).

National data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2018 reflects the same enduring racial divide in opportunity. Bartenders—who are among the highest paid hospitality workers—are more likely to be white than any other group, making up 84% of the field.

Turning Tables confronts these issues on multiple levels. (1) We provide rising Black and Brown hospitality professionals with culturally responsive education, training, mentorship, and resources. (2) We surround our students with a diverse and committed community of support that empowers them to understand their worth. (3) We collaborate directly with restaurant, hotel, and beverage industry partners to increase the diversity of their teams, inclusivity of their environments, and equity in access to opportunity.

Turning Tables is creating a scalable model for equitable access to career pathways. We introduce students to a range of opportunities from production at a local brewery to marketing and brand ambassadorship for a global liquor brand. We use craft bartending as the foundation to build pathways into every sector of hospitality and beyond, including management and entrepreneurship. 

Our students have access to leaders in the local and national hospitality community who collaborate with us to develop a unique curriculum, including the history of race in the beverage industry. Often our collaborators are peers of color who have their own experiences to impart and who are invested in students’ growth. More than bartenders, we support people to become leaders in the community.

Our model is also distinguished by our consulting services, extensive partnership network, and deep level of commitment to city-wide equity work. Turning Tables goes beyond a bar training program. We bring students, mentors, managers, and other industry leaders together in conversation about the future of this industry. We help restaurants restructure their internal process in hiring, training, and access to opportunities. We are building a movement to shift the entire landscape of hospitality, in New Orleans and beyond.

Since 2019, our 12-week program has supported 14 current and aspiring hospitality professionals to accelerate their careers, with a 100% job placement rate to date. Our students gain craft bartending knowledge and skills, a community of mentors, and employment opportunities and pathways in every sector of the beverage industry.

We work with breweries, distilleries, and liquor brands to introduce students to a range of career pathways with opportunities for growth, including production, brand ambassadorship, marketing, and management. Alongside classroom learning, a real-life application is woven into the fabric of our curriculum through on-location training in bars, restaurants, hotels, and music venues. Based on their individual interests and goals, each extern is connected with an industry mentor who they work with at a partner location each week.

Alongside this work, we collaborate with local organizations to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion training opportunities for our employer partners. We consult with local businesses on their bar programs and support them to incorporate more equitable policies and practices into their business models. As an integral part of our own business model, we also partner with local Black-owned businesses and support their growth through cross-promotion, events and activations, and by sharing our online platforms.