Gary Usher hits £95,000 crowdfunding target for Sticky Walnut

Gary Usher's Elite Bistros group has hit its £95,000 crowdfunding target with more than a day to go.

The chef launched a Kickstarter page on Monday night with the aim of raising £95,000 within 95 hours to refurbish the kitchen at Sticky Walnut in Chester.

At the time of writing, the group has raised over £98,000 from 955 backers with 34 hours to go.

Sticky Walnut opened in 2011 on a shoestring budget and was the original restaurant in the Elite Bistros group.

Since then, Usher has crowdfunded over £900,000 from 8,000 backers to expand the business to seven restaurants, a pub and an event catering arm across the north-west of England.

The latest crowdfund will fund upgrades to Sticky Walnut that will see the old gas kitchen replaced with a modern electric kitchen, allowing the restaurant to run as an all-day operation serving breakfast seven days a week.

Kickstarter rewards include pre-paid meal vouchers, private dinners, aprons, Elite Bistros at Home meal boxes and a chance for supporters to have their name on the wall at the restaurant.

Rewards will begin processing as soon as the campaign ends, and the team estimate Sticky Walnut will close towards the end of April or in May for the refurbishment.