CHEF Gary Usher has revealed that his third Kickstarter-funded bistro, Hispi, is set to open in Didsbury Village after a number of offers on sites in Chorlton fell through.
So here's the question. Do you mind if Hispi is in Didsbury?
Earlier this year Usher - whose first restaurant Sticky Walnut opened in Chester in 2011 and went on to scoop the AA Guide’s ‘Restaurant of the Year’ in 2014 – raised £58,650 from 718 backers in order to open the new restaurant in Chorlton.
However, having suffered a series of disappointments and knockbacks during his Chorlton search, Usher says he was forced to look further afield.
‘I drove to Chorlton twice a day, I ate more nuts, I stared through more windows, I got a speeding ticket & a driver’s awareness course,’ Usher stated yesterday via the Kickstarter page.
‘I viewed over 20 sites in Chorlton. I put an offer in on 3. One was rejected, one was too neglected & one decided not to sell their business to move abroad! So, I extended my search perimeter which took me to Didsbury…’
READ: Sticky Walnut and Burnt Truffle Reviewed
Though Usher was quick to appease Chorltonites who may feel a little miffed the neighbourhood bistro they backed is in fact opening in someone else’s neighbourhood.
‘So here's the question. Do you mind if Hispi is in Didsbury, South Manchester, instead of Chorlton, South Manchester?
‘…if anyone has any objection I'd like to get it out there now so we can talk about it together,’ he states.
Sticky Walnut - Usher's first bistro won AA 'Restaurant of the Year' in 2014
Now, here at Confidential we couldn’t give a monkeys which side of Princess Road it opens on, having been in the pipeline since late-2015 we'd much rather see Usher stop dicking about and get on with it, plus he's clearly better off in the kitchen than on our roads.
But then, we're not a Hispi backer living in Chorlton.
And while the majority of folk (on Twitter at least) appear to be similarly minded, there are a handful of disgruntled backers making noise via social media. You can watch the conversation unfold in the comments section below.
So where do you stand?
