He aimed to raise £100k in 100 hours... he did it in twelve
Just when you thought he couldn't possibly do it again...
Crowdfunding golden boy Gary Usher has stormed his way to another Kickstarter record (a world record this time, apparently), raising more than a hundred grand in less than twelve hours.
The chef-turned-restaurateur had aimed to raise £100k in 100 hours in order to open his sixth bistro, KALA, on King Street in Manchester. However, a huge social media push, plus celeb plugs from the likes of Tom Kerridge, Simon Rimmer and, er, the Pope, saw Usher fly past his target with three days to spare.
Having already crowdfunded his way to his first five restaurants (Sticky Walnut, Burnt Truffle, Hispi, Wreckfish and Pinion), Usher had hoped to open KALA without the need to crowdfund.
However, having, in his own words, "fucked up the numbers... fucked up really bad", Usher once again asked his tens of thousands of followers to help him raise the funds to finish the job.
And they did... 1,182 of them (at the time of writing).
He said: "It's amazing, absolutely amazing. I've been sat here in tears to be honest.. I don't know what to say, it's weird... It's not the money, it's people believing in you and what you're trying to do. That feeling is a weird feeling, I can't describe it."
Expected to open in May, the 55-cover KALA will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, with a separate fifteen-cover bar space. Head chef, Zhelyazko Zhelyazkov (or ‘Jiji'), who arrives in Manchester following stints at Moor Hall and Raby Hunt, has created a menu of bistro classics, including beef tartare, braised featherblade, monkfish, apple tart and crème caramel.
