LIKE young Mr Twist, Gary Usher asked for more – and he’s got it. Not content with opening his third bistro, Hispi in Didsbury (our review) he went down the Kickstarter route again in pursuit of latest project, Wreckfish and has hit the required £200,000 crowdfunding target with 45 hours to spare.
So far there have been 1,455 backers and counting plus support from the likes of Tom Kerridge, Simon Rimmer and other high profile chefs. Result is the green light for the 100 cover restaurant in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool city centre, which is set to open in September 2017.
Usher tells us: “This is proof that absolutely anything is possible. The banks refused to support me in 2015 when I wanted to open Burnt Truffle (his second venture after Sticky Walnut near Chester) and despite three successful restaurants, they struggled to back me again with the amount we need to open a restaurant such as Wreckfish.
“This business can be extremely tough, but opening a restaurant knowing that the local community and people from all over the UK are already behind it is a fantastic feeling. From a pop up in the derelict building in February to raising a record breaking £200k in May, I honestly can’t believe we’ve done this.”
ToM suspects this may not be the end for this charismatic chef’s crusade to provide the kind of quality neighbourhood eateries we’d all like around the corner. As Hispi hosted the programme launch for the Manchester Food and Drink Festival he hinted to us that he had another couple of potential projects bubbling up.
Meanwhile, just after Wreckfish is due to surface the busy Mr Usher will be joining the Unabomber DJ duo Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford to create a huge banquet/party in the Mayfield Depot on Thursday, October 5 to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the MFDF.