Authentic American Dining
A Conversation with Ted Turner
and George W. McKerrow
FOUNDERS OF TED’S MONTANA GRILL
How did Ted’s Montana Grill come to be?
McKerrow: I’ve been in the restaurant business a long time. I’m fascinated with bison and the rejuvenation of
bison in North America, and I’ve always been a concept creator. I was riding on an airplane to California and I had a
songwriter’s moment where I just put down this idea on paper. I thought, “I think there’s a classic American grill that
features great comfort food from the turn of the century, has a classic style -- almost like a buttoned-down shirt, a
pair of penny loafers, or a good pair of worn-out blue jeans -- and serves great fresh food. And you know what? We can
feature bison along with classic American food: beef and chicken and seafood.”
Turner: I already had a decent-sized bison herd out West and I was looking for a way to market the bison because
there wasn’t a marketing effort. The bison industry is so small in comparison to the beef industry. And having
restaurants made sense to me to introduce bison meat to millions of consumers around the country. I knew that if
people tried it and if it was prepared properly, they would like it.
You’ve been credited with helping to protect the bison and expand the herds along with the national bison co-op, of which
you’re a member. Has Ted’s Montana Grill helped increase the herds and created more opportunities for bison ranchers?
Turner: It certainly has helped the bison ranches from a financial standpoint and it’s helped them maintain the herds
that we had. There has not, in the last few years, been a whole lot of expansion; there’s been some, but we anticipate
that if things continue to go well for the sale of bison meat, not just through the restaurants but through supermarkets
and other outlets, it will help expand the herds and give ranchers incentive to switch over from cattle to bison.
Is the Ted’s menu focused on bison?
Turner: Even though we feature bison and it accounts for about 40 percent of our overall sales, we have a wide
variety of other entrees on the menu — everything from crab cakes, salmon, and trout to chicken, steaks and prime
rib as well.
Why are those menu items on the menu?
McKerrow: We have a menu that attracts a wide variety of people and has something to please every palate.
People want variety when they come; you don’t want someone who is a vegetarian to say, “Well, I don’t want to eat at
Ted’s.” That’s why we have a great veggie burger. You don’t want someone to say, “I don’t really want to try bison,” so
you have beef hamburgers. We have chicken, we have salmon, we have trout, we even have roast turkey on Sundays.
At the same time, you can’t be everything to everybody. So we have a limited production facility; we cook all of our
food fresh from scratch so it can be enjoyed the way food was meant to be. We have a variety of very common, wellenjoyed products around the country. And we have a large variety of menu items. It creates an opportunity for people
to come to us more often. Now from my perspective, I hope people choose our restaurant two or three times a month
to come because we have that variety. I hope that they find reason to use us often and become a loyal, regular Ted’s
Montana Grill guest, or what we like to call “Ted’s Heads”.
George, what do you think attracted Ted Turner to the restaurant business?
McKerrow: I think several things. Obviously, Ted was interested in bison as a production. He is the largest bison
rancher in the world. That’s the first piece. Two, we had to have a way to market those products. So I said, “Ted, I
think we’re going to have to build our own restaurant chain.” The chefs loved it. And then, of course, Ted is a classic
entrepreneur and so am I. And entrepreneurs love to start new things and we like to take high risks and the restaurant
business provides all of that. It’s the riskiest business in the world; it’s fun and exciting, it’s in the public domain, and it’s
doing something good. Ted likes to do good things and so do I.
How do you ensure your menu always has the freshest food?
McKerrow: Fresh food is what we do at Ted’s Montana Grill every day. I think that we should actually cook for you, the
guest, the same as we do at home. We make our own croutons, we squeeze 40 lemons to make fresh lemonade. We make
our own salad dressings. We go out and cut our steaks fresh. We grind our beef and bison in our butcher’s shop. We make
nine cookies at a time all day long and we don’t carry them over to the next day. We cut vine-ripe tomatoes fresh. We peel
lettuce when it’s time. So we’re actually making your food for you. We’re cooking all day long. The result it, you’re getting
great fresh food, made from scratch (steroid, hormone and antibiotic-free on the protein side) and then delivered to you
as you order it. And I think that is what makes us unique.
What else would you like people to know about the food at Ted’s?
McKerrow: Our kitchen is right out front because we’re proud of what we do. They make everything from scratch.
We cut, wash and spin our potatoes for French fries. We slice vine-ripe tomatoes to order and we make all of our burgers
by hand. And I think that our production of good food is all a part of what we’re about…keeping it fresh so we’re serving
guests food the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
If you could describe the essence of Ted’s Montana Grill in a few words, what would you say?
McKerrow: I’d have to say the essence of Ted’s authenticity. We like to say we’re a modern day version of a simpler
time, when Old West saloons served authentic food and drink to everybody from cowboys to land barons, and genuine
hospitality really was a virtue. We work hard to be authentic so our guests have a true and original experience every
time they visit us. That’s reflected in the fresh food we serve, and the friendly and approachable team members who
will treat you like you’re a guest in their own home. We’ve also made our restaurant atmosphere authentic to the Old
West. We studied the architecture of 1900 to 1910. We looked at the great western environment and we even feature
classic reproduction paintings from Bierstadt and Moran, where the originals are actually from Ted’s collection. We have
elements that are just timeless.
What are a few of the design and architectural elements that really capture the essence of a turn of the century Montana saloon?
McKerrow: When you walk in, you see it right away. First, you see the beautiful tile floors and that’s actually a pattern
we found in a saloon in Montana. Our floors are made of hickory. Clearly, our booths have beautiful millwork. The tin
ceiling is authentic, not faux, and is part of what the turn-of-the-century was. And beyond that, we have lighting that is
reminiscent of the Old West. It all comes together into a package makes you feel comfortable. That’s what a restaurant
atmosphere should do and I think Ted’s does it. We want Ted’s to be a place where good times and great meals draw
people together.
Why do you think the West is so fascinating to people?
Turner: Oh, it’s very romantic -- cowboys and Indians and snow-capped mountains in the background. The West is an
intriguing place. And people who drive there and have a chance to visit are almost always impressed with the West.
Tell us about Ted’s Sustainability mantra, “Eat Great. Do Good.”
Turner: Well, I’m an environmentalist and have been for my whole life, since I was a little boy. It just comes very natural
to me to try to conserve and encourage people to be as efficient as they can possibly be. It makes good business sense
and it’s the right thing to do for the planet and the people on it.
McKerrow: I’ve always felt that being a good citizen in the community where you live is just part of life. We said
from the beginning that we’re going to do some small things that are integral to the way we do business, to the way
we participate in our community, and to the way we design and build our restaurants. And the elements we put in our
restaurants are going to be environmentally friendly. All this may not change the world, but we’re going to make a small
difference. And if we create some conversation around those small things, then we create a louder conversation, and that
louder conversation carries more weight and becomes louder and more important as we progress. If you look back
over the last twelve years of Ted’s Montana Grill, all that has really happened.
Can you give us some more examples of doing good?
Turner: We made the decision from the very beginning that we were going to be as eco-friendly as we possibly
could, as green as we possibly could. And George and the management team have done a wonderful job of that,
everything from using the grease for bio-diesel, to-go cups made of corn starch and straws made of paper and coated
with wax so they work well but they’re also more environmentally friendly than plastic. It’s all part of a long list that’s
similar to what other eco-friendly companies are trying to do. And we want to be a leader in the green movement and
cut down on our carbon emissions as much as we possibly can.
McKerrow: We’re able to do these small things. Now, is any of that going to change the world? No. Is any of that
going to make us absolutely pollution-free, clean up our air, unfill our landfills and make our communities a perfect
place to live? No, it’s not. But each little thing is going to help do that. And because we’ve talked about it, because we
did it first, we’re seeing the entire national restaurant industry also begin to take these kinds of small steps to make
us more environmentally friendly and to use more sustainable products.
Where would you like to see Ted’s go to in the future in terms of the environment and sustainability?
McKerrow: I think that we still have some issues as you look at the national environment. Let me give you an
example: fixtures in the restroom like water-efficient toilets. I hope that in the future we begin to see -- and we are
beginning to see — a national effort to allow for environmentally friendly, sustainable fixtures and things like that to
be readily usable. We’ve installed low-voltage light bulbs in all of our restaurants. That is making a huge contribution
because as they use less energy they last longer and they’re better for the environment. I hope we continue to
work with energy-efficient equipment companies. Most importantly, I think that we can do some fun things, like in
Tallahassee. We’ve added 66 photocells to our roof there that’s making a contribution. We’re generating electricity on
our rooftop and selling that back to the power company. And, the Turner Building in Atlanta, home to our corporate
headquarters and our downtown Atlanta restaurant, is the city’s first multi-use building and has added 25 solar
panels to help provide solar power to the building. It’s pennies in reality, but at the same time it’s a contribution.
Those are some of the things that we do. I think there are other technologies that are coming our way -- whether it’s
in our building materials, our insulation products, the way we build our restaurants with recycled materials, or at least
sustainable materials from close to home.
What is your long-range vision for Ted’s Montana Grill?
Turner: Well, I want to see us be successful in every way. I think so far we have been pretty successful. I’m very
happy with the way things are turning out. I think it will help us to have more restaurants and I’d like to, over the years,
increase the size and number of our restaurants as much as we can.
McKerrow: I hope we continue to be a really fun, viable, exciting company. And I hope we continue to contribute
not only to the health and well-being of the communities we operate in, but that we remain a voice in the industry,
a company known for doing good things. I want us to keep creating great jobs for people and opportunities. Our big
dream would be to go international with this company, to share a little bit of what we do with the rest of the world. Ted
is a big-picture thinker and so am I. We’re entrepreneurs, and we don’t think there’s any limit to what we can do.
George, what’s it like to work with Ted Turner?
McKerrow: Working with Ted is a dream come true for me. He’s an incredibly intelligent, wonderful, caring person.
And he’s a lot of fun. The biggest thing I get from Ted is that there’s no quitting. “There’s no white flag in our bag,” he
says all the time. We just don’t have surrender in our mantra and we just don’t think about not winning.
So what is it about your partnership, the talent that you both bring to the table, that you think makes an interesting
combination for the leadership of Ted’s Montana Grill?
Turner: With George, it’s a lot of fun. It’s hard work, but he grew up in the restaurant business and knows it inside
out. And I’ve worked hard my entire life. But now, at this stage in our lives, it’s not really so much about the hard work
any more; it’s kind of a labor of love. We’re a good team. George and I were friends for a long time before we got into
business together. And this business has given us the chance to get to know each other even better because we’re
talking with each other and meeting at least weekly, sometimes daily. And I think both of us are having a lot of fun and
we’re both proud of what we’re accomplishing here.