Ted Turner Wants To Present You with a Buffalo Bill
(Mar. 3, 2004)

Losing $8 billion can make a man hungry.

In Ted Turner's case, his stroll through the world of big business - courtesy of the merger of Turner Broadcasting with Time Warner and the subsequently ill-fated merger with AOL - has made him hungry for redemption.

And, there's nothing like a buffalo patty to take care of a hungry guy.

So, according to the Feb. 2004 edition of Inc. magazine, Turner is now chairman of Ted's Montana Grills, an expanding, upscale chain of restaurants that feature bison burgers as a menu centerpiece. By the way, Turner owns more than 10 percent of the bison in the United States and Canada, and it's his herd that customers sample for lunch and dinner.

Turner's re-reincarnation from entrepreneurial TV news-network builder to media mogul to entrepreneurial restaurateur may seem to be incredible zig-zagging in an era when self-help wizards promote the careful cultivation of career paths.

So, how will Turner's grill enterprise fare?

Perhaps a splash of mad cow headlines can open a few eyes to bison burgers as an alternative.

Or, maybe America is simply ready for a different taste. Turner's business partner tells Inc. that 55 percent of orders at Ted's Montana Grills are bison-related, even though fish, chicken and beef are also on the menu.