Chef Gary Usher secures third site in south Manchester

Chef Gary Usher, who raised £58,650 as part of his crowdfunding campaign for his third site, has acquired the Jem & I restaurant in Didsbury.

Usher had been hoping to open a restaurant in Chorlton, south Manchester, this summer; however the site fell through and he was forced to throw the search for his third restaurant, to be called Hispi Bistro, further.

In addition to the funds raised by crowdfunding, his bank has agreed to support the project with an additional £100,000 of funding.

Formerly a bank and set over two levels, Jem & I previously held Bib Gourmands for its cooking.

Commenting on the Hispi Bistro Kickstarter crowdfunding page, Usher said: "Our vision was to bring our relaxed style of bistro to the south of Manchester, specifically Charlton, because we were offered an empty unit there. The Chorlton site fell through.

"A deposit has been put down on the Jem & I site in Didsbury Village."

Usher, the winner of the Menu of the Year Catey award in 2013, owns the 40-cover Sticky Walnut in Chester, which opened in 2011, and 100-cover Burnt Truffle in Heswall, Wirral. He raised £100,000 through crowdfunding to launch Burnt Truffle in 2015.

Hispi will serve "neighbourhood bistro grub", along similar lines to the group's existing sites, including fresh bread, Sunday roast meats, "some kind of sticky braised meat", cheesy truffle chips and a wide range of baked fruit tarts.

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