News

May 19, 2009

Ted Turner, Others Encourage Restaurateurs to 'Join the Green Revolution'

The co-founder of the Ted’s Montana Grill chain had some thoughts to share with fellow restaurateurs about the business of being green. Because his name is Ted Turner, several hundred packed his panel appearance at a session titled "Join the Green Revolution" during the National Restaurant Association’s annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.

They not only heard Turner’s repeated assertions that sustainability is sound business, but learned how the media mogul’s partner in Ted’s, casual-dining veteran George McKerrow, was putting that philosophy into action.

McKerrow recounted such steps as replacing 100 light bulbs in each of the chain’s 55 restaurants with energy-saving versions. The changeover of 5,500 bulbs, he said, cost the chain $110,000. But Ted’s cut its utility bills by $80,000 during the year of the switch, and “we expect to save another $180,000 in the second year.”

They were joined on the panel by Charlie Ayers, a chef who features almost exclusively local foods and beverages, right down to the wines, at his Calafia restaurant and Market A-Go-Go retail operation in Palo Alto, Calif. The only exceptions, he said, are coffee, chocolate, coffee and wild-caught salmon.

The trio of mogul, casual-dining specialist and locavore fine-dining chef were given the assignment of explaining why restaurants should join the green restaurant revolution. The group noted the imperative of doing the environmentally right thing for its own sake. “If we don’t, our children and grand children don’t have much of a future,” Turner said -- but they didn't ignore the business implications.

“If you can’t make money doing something, not many people are going to do it,” observed Turner.

McKerrow cited the considerable savings that could be realized by finding greener approaches to the status quo.

For instance, he said, “in Georgia alone, we have 3.5 million gallons of fryer oil produced” as waste. If the industry could find a way of having that waste turned into biodiesel fuel, fewer fossil fuels would be burned, he said,and restaurants wouldn’t have to pay for the oil’s removal.

Similarly, he mentioned a “water extraction process” that can remove “60, 70 percent of the water from waste.” The savings on carting fees could be considerable, he indicated.

Ayers said his insistence on local produce grown in a sustainable fashion can sometimes be less costly than supplies sourced through conventional distribution routes. He deals directly with growers in his northern California area at their respective harvest times, so “I’m getting seasonal foods at the peak of the season at the best prices.”

The panelists acknowledged that sustainability can sometimes be a cost to the business. Ayers, for instance, recounted how his customers often have to be turned down when they request items that aren’t grown locally. “I do that all the time, say no,” he explained. “People ask for out-of-season fruits, and I explain why we don’t have them.”

Still, said McKerrow, “we need to go out and find a way to make it happen. Doing the right thing doesn’t have to cost you money.”

Besides, he said, “it might help you earn a good reputation. And at the end of the day, all you really have in the restaurant business is your reputation.”