Above: The Delmonico steak at Ted’s Montana Grill in Christiana Fashion Center. This is the only Delaware location for the unique franchise, which was co-founded by media mogul Ted Turner. Photos courtesy Ted’s Montana Grill.
Eight years ago, area restaurant manager Brian Parkinson was searching for something that would broaden his horizons.
“I was looking for a concept that was a little bit outside of what you would call the chain restaurant box,” Parkinson says.
Whether it was the power of expansive thinking or a case of mere happenstance, opportunity came knocking from an unexpected place: the Wild West.
In 2016, when Parkinson learned that Ted’s Montana Grill was about to bring its famous bison-based cuisine to Delaware, he knew it was a good match for him.
“I did some research about their freshness, their sustainability, and the things that they like to do from an environmental perspective,” Parkinson recalls. “And it kind of fit for me. I was kind of looking for something a little smaller, a little bit more intimate, a little bit more upscale.”
There also was the fact that bison — the flagship offering at Ted’s Montana Grill — was gaining in popularity among meat-lovers as both a flavorful option and a healthier one. Bison is higher in iron and protein than any other meat and is the leanest protein you can find including beef, pork, chicken and salmon.
In addition, Ted’s also offered a robust gluten-free menu and a kids menu with healthier selections like carrots and salmon.
Parkinson took the interview with Ted’s team members and soon won the job as proprietor of what would become Ted’s only Delaware location. Montana would be coming to the First State, and Parkinson was about to find the place he had been looking for.
The philosophy behind Ted’s Montana Grill appealed to area restaurateur Brian Parkinson, so in 2016 he took the reins as proprietor of the Delaware location.
Today, Ted’s Montana Grill stands out in curious juxtaposition at its location in the Christiana Fashion Center. Walk in through the front doors, and guests discover homestead-like comfort amid one of the area’s most popular shopping destinations. With its tin ceiling, mosaic-tiled floors and wood-paneled walls, the setting more closely resembles the chain’s location in the historic Baxter Hotel in Bozeman, Mt., than it does any other chain restaurant in New Castle County.
At the cozy booths, “buttery” lights from ornated Tiffany lamps take diners “back to that rustic saloon” of the old West, Parkinson says.
While happy hour guests cozy up to an ornately crafted frontier-style bar, Parkinson and his staff seat and service the tables. The bison served here are the same ranch-raised bison served at all the chain’s 38 locations, the majority which are raised on the 14 private ranches — in Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota and Kansas — owned by billionaire Ted Turner, from whom the chain gets its name.
Blazing a Trail
In 2002, Turner co-founded Ted’s Montana Grill with partner George McKerrow Jr. (founder of the Longhorn Steakhouse chain) on the premise of serving meals with “important ingredients like simplicity, honesty and authenticity.” They based the company on four ideals: bison, sustainability, hospitality and the experience.
The two-page Christiana menu includes about 75 items to eat, with almost 30 featuring bison (plus several Bison Ridge wines) so it’s no surprise that all the Ted’s combined serve more bison than any other restaurant chain in the world.
What may come as a surprise is the fact that one of the unlikely benefactors of serving bison is the bison species itself — a population that, due to overhunting coupled with a few years of severe weather, saw its numbers drop to as low as 1,000 in 1890.
Sustainability has been part of our business practice since Day One.
– Jessica Smith, Ted’s Montana Grill
In fact, Ted’s efforts have helped lead a resurgence of America’s national mammal, doubling the population to about half a million, the chain announced in 2022 — its 20th anniversary.
“The bison business was once in a state of economic meltdown due to the steep cost of live animals and unsold bison meat,” Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association is quoted in that announcement. “Turner and McKerrow recognized the great taste and health benefits of bison, realizing they could help save them if they made [bison] the cornerstone of their menu.”
Jessica Smith, Ted’s vice president of marketing, says raising bison is just one aspect of the group’s focus on sustainability.
“We started the paper straw movement,” Smith says. “Sustainability has been part of our business practice since Day One. We were green before it was ever cool, and really, we were farm to table before that was ever a thing.”
That ethos, coupled with making items in small batches, has “reduced food waste by more than half compared to the average restaurant,” Smith says.
Visible signs of that sustainability include tables covered in recycled brown butcher paper; pan and basket liners made with unbleached paper; beverage coasters from timber from reforestation programs; wooden swizzle sticks; takeout cups and cutlery that are compostable; and reusable takeout containers that are made from recycled material.
“Around here, we embrace the spirit of the American West in everything we do, from classic recipes handcrafted from scratch to a warm, welcoming staff,” Parkinson says. And when it comes to staff, Ted’s First State location is leading the pack.
Parkinson’s leadership, combined with Ted’s corporate philosophy of cross-training and promoting from within, has kept staff turnover low. At last count, it was 34% at Christiana, the second lowest among the chain’s 38 restaurants, and it’s consistently among the best three, says Smith. Compare that figure to a restaurant industry annual average of 80%, according to Toast, an industry point of sale system, citing federal data.
Parkinson’s leadership style has also meant that the Christiana restaurant, which seats 220 and has a patio, has been frequently used to train managers for locations in the other 15 states.
“I want to make my team members feel welcome,” he says. “They understand that they’re not just a number. … I want to make it an environment for them to make great money and a place where they’re not just there to make a dollar, but to better themselves and better their lives and their families’ lives.”
Little Differences That Matter
Ted’s has a motto: “We do things a little different because it’s the little differences that matter.”
Those differences include the bowls of half-sours (cucumbers cured in spices and garlic, then soaked in brine) placed on the table when patrons sit down, food prepared without microwaves or freezers (except, of course, ice cream and three shapes of ice for the bar) and servers schooled to be “never stuffy, always respectful,” Parkinson says.
“We’re very, very much local market vs. acting like a chain, and that’s why we call the general managers of restaurants proprietors because we want them to have ownership,” Smith says. “No other restaurant chain really compares to us.”
The Avalon burger is the Christiana location’s most popular menu item.
Ted’s menu notes some of its signature differences including the hand-cut steaks from its on-premise butcher shoppe; its fresh, made-to-order fries and chips; the homemade desserts; and the freshly squeezed lemonade and sour mix. Other differences not noted on the menu are the house-made dips and salad dressings.
“It’s really unheard of for any other chain to make everything from scratch,” Smith says. The menu also doesn’t detail how the burger meat is ground twice daily and the proprietary potatoes are boiled in garlic-infused water for the mashed potatoes.
“When you work in this restaurant, you can feel good about the things that you do and the things that you serve because it’s not processed,” Parkinson says. “It just really brings you a sense of pride in what you sell and what you give to people.”
Ted’s philosophy calls for buying locally, when feasible, so suppliers to Christiana include Fifer’s Orchards near Wyoming and mushroom growers in southern Chester County, he says.
Local libations include Dogfish Head (recommendations from Christiana means it’s now on the menu in all Ted’s), First State Brewing in Middletown, Big Oyster Brewery in Lewes, Evolution Craft Brewing in Salisbury (Md.), Stateside Vodka in Philadelphia and Yuengling & Son in Pottsville (Pa.).
The most popular items on the menu in Christiana are the Avalon burger (beef or bison, with Gruyère, blue cheese, bacon-caramelized onions, roasted garlic aioli and baby arugula), the bison ribeye and the gluten-free bison nachos (which sells more than at any other restaurant in the chain, Smith says).
The ability to localize means that the Christiana Ted’s serves a turkey dinner on Sundays and New England clam chowder. It also partners with First State Brewing for bison and beer tastings, usually quarterly, Parkinson says.
Ted’s has supported local nonprofits, including the YMCA, University of Delaware boosters and the Delaware Burger Battle, which helps with food security, he says.
Whether it’s a matter of connecting with the community or simply serving a quality meal, the standard is a “warm and memorable experience,” Parkinson says.
And the standard is maintained to the very end of dining out. Two-dollar bills given out as change to customers paying cash function as a take-home reminder of that nostalgic experience and unique touch.
