Former Morton’s chief exec lived a rich food lifeFormer Morton’s chief exec lived a rich food life


I met Allen Bernstein in the mid-1970s, when Allen was operating Hardee’s units on Long Island, and I was the general manager of a group of McDonald’s restaurants in New York. We immediately recognized our mutual interests and respect for one another, and a warm friendship developed.


Very soon after we began to know each other, Allen called and invited me to go with him to south New Jersey to see a new burger concept called Wendy’s. Because he had trouble with his vision, he had a driver, so we had lots of time to relax in the back seat and talk at length about many subjects, especially restaurants and food.


The depth of his knowledge and thirst for even more was astonishing. This was a man who was bound to be an expert at the restauran...