It’s 11:30 a.m. and the restaurant’s humming. Teachers slip in to score a coveted table from the young host. Waitstaff bustles by, hustling plates of Nashville hot chicken to tables before the lunch bell. This is Knight’s Tavern, a front-facing, student-run restaurant where Culinary Arts Instructor and Robinson High School alum Chef Mitchell Smithey is doing far more than teaching recipes. He’s using the pace and pressure of a real kitchen to build something less tangible but far more lasting: careers, confidence, and the kind of soft skills that open doors long after graduation.
Mitchell Smithey never planned to be a teacher. But after a long career working as an award-winning chef in kitchens around the South, family life had him looking in a new direction. His experience made him a perfect fit for teaching in a culinary program. Within a week of securing his certification, the opportunity at Robinson was posted. “Robinson’s my alum. I graduated here, so I applied, got the job, and this is my eighth year now,” shared Smithey.
The culinary space when he was hired was nothing like it is today. But when a construction project expanded to include a new Culinary Arts Lab, it presented an opportunity. The principal pushed for a front-facing restaurant as part of the renovation – and Knights Tavern was born. “This is nicer than every restaurant I’ve ever worked at. We are the only school in Hillsborough County that guests can come in off the street through our own private entrance. And it runs like a restaurant. Just run by students. They do everything. They greet the guests. They help design the menus. It is truly a student-run restaurant,” explained Smithey.
Knight’s Tavern serves lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, with an added dinner service on Friday nights. “With the exception of Monday and Tuesday, when they come in, they have to prep for Thursday and Friday. When we’re not open, we’re doing sanitation and safety training, or adding a few fun things,” said Smithey.
But the students in Robinson’s Culinary Arts program are learning far more than knife skills. “Cooking is what’s fun. They’ve got to learn how to communicate. To work together. To think for themselves. They learn conflict management. All those soft skills you need to be successful in life. The cooking is the easy part,” Smithey shared.
Above all, Smithey wants his students prepared for a path after high school, regardless of where that path takes them. “I sit down and have a conversation with my students and help them build a plan. It doesn’t matter whether it’s college or tech school. I help them get an idea of what they want,” explained Smithey.
The program is already making a difference for students as they consider what comes next. He’s had a student take the culinary program as a fun outlet from the rigors of other classes, just to change career paths. Some students are starting their own businesses with the skills learned in the program. For others, the opportunity has been truly transformative. “One of my most successful stories is about Milo. Last year, Milo pretty much ran things. Of all the students I’ve ever had, Milo was the only one that I could hand my keys and know everything’s going to be done exactly the way it needs to be. It was just amazing,” shared Smithey.
As tickets stack up and students hustle between stations, it’s clear what’s happening inside Robinson’s gleaming, student-run restaurant is about far more than food. Here, teenagers are testing out careers, discovering unexpected paths, and learning skills that will carry them well beyond the kitchen. Smithey hopes the wider community will see this room the way he does: as a place to gather, to mentor, and to give students a taste of the world they’re preparing to enter. For the students who work in Knight’s Tavern, each service offers another opportunity to practice the skills—and discover the possibilities—that extend far beyond the kitchen.