Gary Usher hits back at 'beggar in the street' abuse

Award-winning cook Gary Usher has hit back after receiving criticism following his announcement of a new crowdfunder effort.

Gary owns a bunch of restaurants in the northwest, such as Wreckfish in Liverpool, Pinion in Prescot and Kala in Manchester. He said he's planning to start a Crowdfunder to pay for a "long overdue" makeover of his first restaurant, Sticky Walnut, in Chester.

It'll start on March 4, and anyone who donates will get a meal voucher for one of his restaurants. The business owner has had great luck with Crowdfunders in the past, like when they raised a whopping £200,000 to fix up The White Horse pub in Churton.

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That place went on to be named one of the Top 50 Gastropubs in the UK, less than a year after opening. However not everyone is happy with Gary's latest money-making idea and some people on social media have been giving him a hard time about it, the MEN reports.

One person even called Gary "worse than a beggar in the street" on X. The user said: "Shameless. Not content with the public buying you an empire, you now want them to refurb it for you."

He added: "You're worse than a beggar in the street, at least they are genuinely in need. You've made enough off people's goodwill already. If you're still struggling your clearly not a good businessman."

In response, Gary said: "I wholeheartedly agree I'm a s*** businessman. But "Worse than a beggar in the street" is a pretty gross way to insult homelessness."

He added: "Well done Russ. Just a reminder, I rented a flat and paid the deposit for someone "on the street" in Manchester then employed them. What did you do?"

Many of Gary's