NEW YORK Ted’s Montana Grill chain to several hundred restaurateurs, educators and reporters in the morning, then detailing the moves to a theater of college students in the afternoon. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
The presentation was a repeat of the appearances they had already made in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, and they hope to repeat at any eastern locale where operators, culinary schools or even consumers are interested in learning about the small changes restaurants can make to be more environmentally responsible. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
By raising awareness of what can be done, McKerrow explained, more restaurants might turn their attention to such basic endeavors as recycling, energy and water conservation, and switching to renewable sources. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
“I hope there’ll be a snowball effect,” he told the audience of New York University students in Greenwich Village. “The more people who do it, the more the costs will come down,” luring more converts and making the moves more economically feasible to confirmed believers like the 55-unit Ted’s chain. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
Ted’s already is projecting a $120,000 savings during the next four years from the use of energy-saver light bulbs in place of the conventional incandescent type, said McKerrow, a lifelong restaurateur perhaps best known as the founder of the LongHorn Steakhouse chain. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
The more extraordinary step of installing solar-energy panels atop a Ted’s in Florida reduced that store’s utility purchases by 5 percent, McKerrow revealed. But, he told the NYU students, ecological undertakings of that scale may not yet be economically feasible without government incentives like tax breaks. He championed carrots of that sort as preferable and effective alternatives to laws mandating environmental changes from business. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
Even the less-ambitious initiatives undertaken by Ted’s, a casual chain specializing in bison meat, are costlier than the conventional operating procedures, McKerrow acknowledged. The recycled paper used for the chain’s menus and tabletop covers—sheets that go over a vinyl tablecloth—cost more than the virgin variety, he explained. Energy-saving light bulbs are also typically more expensive. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
Atlanta-based Ted’s is investigating such bolder steps as installing extractors that remove water from kitchen refuse, leaving behind dehydrated organic waste that takes up less landfill space. The growing chain also is shifting to the use of natural flooring materials, like bamboo. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
But restaurateurs needn’t think they have to undertake initiatives of that scope, he said. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
“Just look at something like recycling” or swapping out light bulbs, he said. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
“What we really want to do is get a conversation started,” McKerrow said in an interview before taking the microphone with Turner, the media mogul turned restaurateur and bison rancher. “If people start talking, the conversation gets small things started, and those will turn into big things.” —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
Turner opined that people could make a difference just by picking up litter, something he professed to do outside the New York unit. “I’ll pick up a couple pieces of trash if someone’s looking because that has double the impact,” he said. “Someone’ll say, ‘If Ted Turner can pick up trash, so can I.’” —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
Turner and McKerrow readily revealed that they haven’t taken ecological concerns to an extreme, in their business or their personal lives. A questioner chastised Ted’s for using vinyl tablecloths, a no-no to hardcore greenies. McKerrow acknowledged he’d chosen the cover for performance, without thinking about the ecological implications. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
“Your point is well taken,” he said. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
Turner drew guffaws when he chastised fellow billionaires for the wasteful indulgence of buying commercial airliners and converting them into private crafts. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their
“I have a more moderately sized plane,” he observed. —Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. brought their green tour to New York in early April, recounting the ecological steps they’ve taken at their