First-time visitors to one of the 51 Ted's Montana Grills in the United States will
realize quickly that the restaurant is different than most.
The restaurant's logo includes the outline of an American Buffalo, and the menu includes bison burgers,
barbequed bison ribs and bison pot roast. The restaurant's founders, media mogul Ted Turner and
restaurateur George McKerrow Jr., said they hope featuring bison on the menu will help increase the size
of herds by encouraging farmers to raise the animals.
It's part of the restaurant's overarching theme - encouraging sustainability and environmentalism. Turner, a
longtime environmentalist, operates a foundation that offers grants to encourage environmental projects.
"Ted and I are environmentalists," said McKerrow, who previously founded the Longhorn Steakhouse chain.
"We believe you've got to practice what you preach. We think people need to see that it's not about big, giant
steps."
The chain has taken extensive steps to reduce its environmental footprint and promotes those efforts through
its slogan: "Eat Great. Do Good."
The chain's most recent environmental effort was replacing guest area lighting in all 51 restaurants with low-voltage
light bulbs. Traditional incandescent 60-watt bulbs used in dining, bar and wait areas as well as restrooms were
replaced with 8-watt compact fluorescent bulbs. While the bulbs cost nearly $10 each as compared to only 50 cents
for a traditional bulb, the savings would be recouped in about six months.
While McKerrow had wanted to install the low-energy bulbs long ago, his employees only six months ago found an
aesthetically pleasing bulb that could be used with light dimmers.
"This way, we were able to give the ambience we wanted and still use the low voltage lighting," McKerrow said.
The Ted's Montana Grill in Tallahassee, Fla., in June became the first to install a solar energy system. One
World Sustainable Inc. installed 44 solar panels on the upper roof and 22 panels on the patio roof to supply about
5 percent of the restaurant's energy needs. The system is working well, and the company is considering
installing similar systems on other restaurants in buildings it owns, McKerrow said. However, many of the
restaurants are in leased properties, where installing a solar energy system wouldn't be practical.
The restaurant also is looking into the possibility of installing a small windmill on the roof of one of its
restaurants.
Environmental considerations go into every decision related to the restaurant's operation, McKerrow said. The
restaurant uses menus printed on recycled paper, straws made of paper instead of plastic, drink stirrers made of wood,
and cups and flatware for takeout meals made of corn starch that will decompose in landfills. Soft drinks are
served in recyclable glass bottles, and water-efficient toilets and 100 percent biodegradable Boraxo soap are used in
restrooms.
Locating some of the environmentally preferable items was a challenge, McKerrow said.
"We spoke to a company in New Jersey six years ago - the family that invented the paper straw in 1833,"
he said. "They hadn't made it since 1970 in the United States or anywhere in the world. We
talked them into resurrecting their process, and now there's a full-size plant that sells not only to Ted's
Montana Grill but to other people like the cruise lines and throughout Europe."
In addition, the restaurant chain soon will eliminate the sale of bottled water. The restaurants
are installing improved water filtration systems to improve the taste of tap water.
"We're going to take all bottled water completely out of the restaurant and offer 100 percent
filtered water in old-fashioned milk bottles."
Those water bottles, once they go into landfills, last virtually forever, he said.
McKerrow said he and the Turner Foundation, which is giving grant money to the National Restaurant Association
to educate other restaurant owners on environmental issues, want to encourage businesses to adopt sustainable
business practices.
"Oftentimes it takes an upfront investment, but the return on that investment is generally positive,
and there's actually an economic engine out there that can be driven by people doing the right things with the
environment," McKerrow said.