Diners entering Ted's Montana Grill this
weekend trod on tiled floors under a hand-pressed tin
ceiling, patterned after a turn-of-the-century Montana
saloon.
The restaurant made its downtown Naperville
debut Friday and Saturday nights with free dining for
invited community members. Guests to the western-style
bar and grill chose classic American dishes, such as
bison burgers, meatloaf and pot roast.
Founders Ted Turner, the media mogul,
and restaurateur George McKerrow Jr. say their restaurants
provide a "21st century twist on the classic comfort
foods of family dinners and church suppers."
IF YOU GO
Ted's Montana Grill
When: After opening for dinner Monday
night, the restaurant will be open daily from 11 a.m.
to 10 p.m. starting Tuesday.
Where: 39 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville
The menu: Along with burgers and steaks,
the restaurant also offers crab cakes, pecan-crusted
trout, cedar plank salmon, chicken grills and vegetable
sides.
Prices: Mid-range, from about $12 to $20
for an entrée.
On the Web: Visit www.tedsmontanagrill.com
As they developed the chain, Turner and
McKerrow designed Ted's to evoke images and tastes of
the West while staying environmentally friendly.
"They tried to be as authentic as
possible with the re-creation of the concept,"
said Claudia D'Avanzo, a spokesperson for the chain.
With the addition of the Naperville location,
there will be 48 Ted's restaurants in 18 states. There
are two other restaurants in the Chicago area, in Glenview
and Schaumburg. The company expects to open a fourth
one in Bolingbrook next month.
At Ted's, menus are printed on recycled
paper. Patrons use paper straws for soft drinks that
are served in recyclable glass bottles. The toilets
are water-efficient and the hand soap is 100 percent
biodegradable. And every restaurant is nonsmoking.
As the largest American landowner, Turner
has 14 ranches in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico,
Oklahoma and South Dakota. According to the Web site
for Ted's Grill, Turner wants to manage all that land
in a "sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner,
while conserving native species."
Also the largest bison owner in America,
Turner is focusing his chain of restaurants on serving
naturally raised bison - a meat that he touts as a nutritious,
lean meat that is rich in iron and considered a healthy
alternative to other meats.
Along with burgers and steaks, the restaurant
also offers crab cakes, pecan-crusted trout, cedar plank
salmon, chicken grills and vegetable sides.
As a business owner, Turner is best recognized
as the founder of the cable television network CNN and
TBS. He is also well known for his $1 billion pledge
to the United Nations donated through his United Nations
Foundation.