Elite Bistros to take on The White Horse in Churton for first pub venture

The hospitality business, founded by chef and restaurateur Gary Usher, is the stages of buyin the village pub, which has remained close since the start of the lockdown restrictions.

In a series of tweets, Usher announced that that the company was “in the middle of buying” the pub and that it “would be a dream for us to run it”.

Usher, who says he is familiar with Churton because his mother and father life a few minutes away and often walks his dog in the area, says his intention is to keep things simple.

“Our plans at The White Horse are pretty simple, we want to serve great drinks, delicious unpretentious food by a team that love what they do,” he said on Twitter. “I’m super keen to hear what the local community like. all I ask Go easy on us, this is our first pub, we won’t get it all right straight away.”

As part of the Elite Bistros group The pub would remain a community pub, with Usher saying there were no plans to change the way it looks.

“I’m absolutely aware how much The White Horse means to the community in Churton because like any good pub that’s who it’s primarily there for, the community and anyone else who visits is a lovely bonus. If we get it I don’t want to rip it apart and change the way it looks. I love it.”

Usher first announced that he was looking to open a pub in January when he tweeted that an offer on a venue had been accepted.

2022 is looking to be a busy year for Elite Bistros, which operates restaurants including Sticky walnut, Burnt Truffle ad Rockfish. Usher has also announced his intention to open another venue, this time a tapas venue called Joya Tapas​​. He is also looking to raise £2m selling shares in Elite Bistro via a crowdfund on fundraising platform Crowdcube, kicking off on 4 April.

The money raised will be used to strengthen the business, create a new brand within it and open three new sites.