Ted’s Montana Grill, the newest restaurant joining the lineup at Downtown Crown in Gaithersburg, is scheduled to open Monday.
The Downtown Crown location will be the American chain’s 46th restaurant and first in Maryland.
The chain, which features bison dishes, was founded in 2002 by George McKerrow, who partnered with media and business mogul Ted Turner to launch the concept.
McKerrow previously founded the LongHorn Steakhouse chain in 1981 with financing assistance from his father. He later took LongHorn public in 1992 and then retired from the company in 2000, according to a press release.
McKerrow founded Ted’s Montana Grill with Turner partly as a way to provide ranchers with incentive to grow bison herds in the U.S. Today, the company claims it sells more bison than any other restaurant in the world, according to the release. Bison beef, which is typically leaner and more protein-rich than ground beef, is used in menu items like nachos, burgers and meatloaf. Cuts of bison are also offered as a filet, Kansas City strip steak or Delmonico ribeye.
The Gaithersburg restaurant is about 5,000 square feet and seats 136 inside and 62 on an outdoor patio that has an expansive fireplace. The interior is modeled after a 19th century saloon.
On Wednesday, it was in the midst of a soft opening dinner service. The restaurant joins a burgeoning restaurant scene at Crown, which now includes other full-service restaurants such as Old Town Pour House, Coastal Flats, Asia Nine, Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Ted’s Bulletin (which is not affiliated with Ted’s Montana Grill.)
The dining room at outdoor patio at Ted's Montana Grill in Gaithersburg. Photos by Andrew Metcalf
