I was kicking around YouTube a few days ago when I tripped over this hidden gem -- a clip of NHLers Ron Greschner and George McPhee (check out the mullet) circa 1989 -- being interviewed on CNBC in order to tout their investment in the Blue Moon Mexican Cafe, a chain of Tex-Mex restaurants that's still in operation in New York and Northern New Jersey.
As someone who has to watch CNBC everyday as part of his job, it's hard to believe that the cable network started out from such humble beginnings. In any case, I caught up with Caps GM McPhee -- who with the exception of the mullet more or less looks exactly the same -- on Friday night at Verizon Center and asked him whatever happened to his investment in the chain. He shook his head and laughed, and proceeded to tell me about how he had gotten involved with the original ownership group while he was playing for the Rangers and eventually convinced Greschner to come on board as an investor.
He seemed to have nothing but good memories of his time in the business -- making sure to remind me that he was proud of his title of "Vice President of Atmosphere." Among the highlights of his time in the business: playing host to both John McEnroe and Kevin Costner at the restaurant's location in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.
But all good things have to come to an end, and in this case his time in the restaurant business ended in 1992 when he went to work for Pat Quinn in Vancovuer as Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Canucks.
Video of the Day: Rangers in the Restaurant Business originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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