Top chef in bid to crowdfund £50k in 24 hours for a fifth restaurant

Chef entrepreneur Gary Usher has launched an ambitious crowdfunding campaign to raise £50,000 in 24 hours for a fifth restaurant, Pinion in Prescot, Merseyside.

A year since his last record-breaking crowdfunding campaign when he raised more than £200,000 for his fourth restaurant, he has announced that at 7pm on May 29, he and his team will be launching a £50k Kickstarter campaign to secure funds to open a fifth restaurant.

He said: “Prescot has an incredible sense of community with some amazing people who are so proud of where they come from.

“It’s been through some hard times, but with plans to regenerate the area, myself and the team are hoping to bring a really great little bistro to Prescot and be part of something bigger than just a business.”

He added: “Why 24 hours? It seems crazy, but because the building is completely empty, we really need to get going so it’s open for the summer.

“We’ve also totally changed how we’re approaching this Kickstarter campaign.

“I think there should be complete transparency in crowdfunding, which is why we’ll be offering monetary pledges this time around, instead of meal vouchers.

“It means that your 50 quid pledge, will be exactly 50 quid in the restaurant. We’re also making sure everyone gets their vouchers in less than a week, just like any normal voucher purchase.”

Like other restaurants in the Elite Bistro’s group, Pinion will serve freshly-baked bread and humble bistro dishes, such as a beef braise with truffle and parmesan chips and a classic tart for dessert.

Gary Usher has worked at the Michelin-starred Chester Grosvenor, followed by time at Chapter One, Chez Bruce, York & Albany and Jamie’s Italian.

He opened Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Chester, in 2011.

He then decided to open a second bistro, and with no support from banks he launched a crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter and Twitter.

Securing more than £100,000 thanks to 891 backers who made pledges of between £10 and £5,000, Burnt Truffle opened its doors in Heswall, on the Wirral, in July 2015.

Following Burnt Truffle’s success, Mr Usher launched another Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign early in 2016 to open a third restaurant, Hispi, receiving nearly £60,000 in pledges, almost 20% more than the original target.

High profile people in the food and restaurant industry, such as Neil Rankin, Angela Hartnett, Ashley Palmer-Watts, and Jesse Dunford Wood, backed the campaign.

A third crowdfunding campaign to open Wreckfish in Liverpool was a huge success.

In May last year Mr Usher broke crowdfunding records by raising more than £200,000 for his fourth restaurant, Wreckfish, in Liverpool.

This is the most money ever raised for a restaurant crowdfunding campaign in the UK, supported by 1,522 backers.

Mr Usher has recently been named by The Caterer as one of the Top 100 most influential people in the industry.

Gary Usher

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