Gary Usher to crowdfund launch of Elite Bistro events business

Chef-restaurateur Gary Usher has announced plans to crowdfund the launch of Elite Bistro Events.

Posting on Twitter, Usher said the month-long crowdfund would open on 1 June. It would fund the launch of an events side to his restaurant business from Deva House in Chester, a site the group has taken on to continue its Elite Bistros at Home offering.

"It's been an amazing business for us – it's been so good that we are opening our next business, which is Elite Bistro Events. So, we're going to carry on with the cook at home stuff but we're also going to do, hopefully, weddings and events," said Usher.

"We've got some cash, but we need a little bit more. Crowdfunding is kind of our thing; we're going to do another one."

He added that the crowdfund would involve selling vouchers towards meals at Elite Bistros restaurants, the money from which would be put towards the new arm of the business, with more details to be announced.

The Elite Bistros group is overseen by Usher as well as executive chef Richard Sharples and managing director Claire Wright.

Its sites include Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Chester, the first solo restaurant for Usher, which opened in 2011; Burnt Truffle in Heswall on the Wirral, which opened in July 2015; Hispi in Didsbury, south Manchester; Wreckfish in Liverpool; Pinion in Prescot; and Kala in Manchester, which opened in 2019. All sites apart from Sticky Walnut were crowdfunded.