Restaurateur Gary Usher is to launch his fourth crowdfunding campaign later this month in an attempt to raise £50,000 in 24 hours to fund his next project, Pinion, in Prescot, Merseyside.
He will launch the campaign at 7pm on 29 May on Kickstarter, and aims to open the restaurant, which is currently an empty building on Eccleston Street in the town centre, in time for summer.
Usher, who is featured in The Caterer's Top 100 Most Powerful People in Hospitality, 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."
Those who pledge toward funding Pinion will be offered "transparent" rewards. Usher said: "We will be offering monetary pledges this time around instead of meal vouchers. It means that your £50 pledge will be exactly £50 in the restaurant."
Pinion will join Usher's portfolio of Elite Bistros, which includes Sticky Walnut in Chester, Burnt Truffle in Heswall on the Wirral, Hispi in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, and Wreckfish in Liverpool.
The new restaurant will be in a similar style and will serve bistro dishes such as beef braise with truffle and Parmesan chips and tarts for dessert.
Usher opened Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Chester, in 2011. His first Kickstarter campaign secured more than £100,000 from 891 backers. He opened his second site, Burnt Truffle, in July 2015.
Didsbury-based Hispi followed suit, receiving nearly £60,000 in pledges and support from top industry figures such as chefs Neil Rankin, Angela Hartnett, Ashley Palmer-Watts and Jesse Dunford Wood.
In May 2017 Usher raised more than £200,000 from 1,522 backers for his fourth restaurant, Wreckfish, in Liverpool. It is believed to be the most money ever raised for a restaurant crowdfunding campaign in the UK.
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