When Gary Usher’s new country pub The White Horse at Churton opened its booking system last Friday, fans of his Elite Bistro’s empire rushed to secure themselves a table at the soon-to-open village boozer.
It might not open its doors until 3 March but over the weekend the pub received over 500 booking requests for its first three days, showing that enthusiasm amongst fans is running high as ever.
Fully crowdfunded to the tune of £220,000 by Elite Bistro restaurant-goers in just 24 hours, it will be the eighth venture for Usher, whose group already lays claim to popular Manchester restaurants Kala and Hispi, as well as Chester’s Sticky Walnut and Wreckfish in Liverpool.
However, it’s not all been smooth sailing for the new pub so far. This weekend, Usher was forced to take to Twitter to defend his menu prices at the pub after he came under fire for listing a dry-aged burger with Comté cheese, mustard, relish and pickle with skinny fries for £19.50.
In a video posted to Twitter on Sunday, Usher said: “I wanted to address a few comments about the burger on the menu, the burger’s £19 [sic] and I just wanted to address that and explain a few bits about what we do and why we do it.
“So I don’t even know where to start actually, well let’s start with a couple of comments…
“‘We should be comparing ourselves to the pub down the road and that’s how we should be finding out our prices?’ That’s just ridiculous,” he said.
The newly-released menu for The White Horse at Churton pub has caused some controversy online thanks to a £19.50 burger. / image: The White Horse at Churton
image: The White Horse at Churton
“I’m not the most confident person, I’m painfully shy to be honest, but with the business I try not to be arrogant about it ever, I’m not, but we have to give ourselves a bit of credit for who we are and what we’ve achieved and how we’ve got to where we’ve got.
He continued: “This pub isn’t our first venture, this is number eight and were bl**** successful at what we do, so you have to give us some credit… give us the confidence to make the right decisions with this.
“I’ve been working my whole life in this industry. This is my sector. This is what I specialise in. I’m an expert at it, we all are in this business.
“And you know to be told things like you should be comparing it to the business down the road is just ridiculous. That’s not how you price up a menu.
“The burger is £19 [sic]. Now, we don’t look at other places to do that. Comparisons are great – be aware of what other people charge…
“You know to price up the menu, we source the ingredients, the very best ingredients. We get all our own raw ingredients, we add them up and then we take that into account and then work out the percentage that covers all of our costs. That’s how we came up with the cost of the menu item. That’s why the burger is £19 [sic].”
Homemade pork pie, picalilli and pickled chillies at The White Horse at Churton (£7.50). / Image: The White Horse at Churton
Beer-battered haddock and chips with minted pears and tartare at The White Horse at Churton (£15.50) / Image: The White Horse at Churton
Speaking to The Telegraph in an article on Sunday, Usher expressed concern about opening and confessed that he felt they were ‘really risking it’ by opening ‘in these times’.
“There was a lot of talk about pubs closing down, and I thought if I could be in a position to get hold of something it would probably be a good time to buy.”
It’s clearly a labour of love for the acclaimed chef, who has previously revealed that he is a huge fan of the area as his parents live nearby.
Located eight miles south of Chester, the historic pub has long been a local favourite. However, it was shuttered at the start of the Covid pandemic when its former licensees Dave and Jackie Biles found the business was becoming “unsustainable”.
The White Horse at Churton will also serve Sunday roasts. / Image: The White Horse at Churton
An old picture of The White Horse at Churton. / Image: The White Horse at Churton
On its newly-released menu, alongside the now-infamous £19.50 beef burger, diners will find traditional pub grub favourites like beer-battered haddock with chips (£15.50) and an 18oz dry aged sirloin of beef to share with chips and salad (£62) alongside the likes of homemade pork pie, stout rarebit, curried lamb pie and herby lamb faggots.
Bury FC offering free tickets to Morecambe fans amid ongoing club crisis
Danny Jones
Bury FC are offering free tickets to travelling Morecambe fans free tickets to an upcoming match in a show of solidarity for the fellow North West football club amid their ongoing crisis.
For anyone unaware of the situation in the Lancashire town, Morecambe FC could soon be no more after being suspended from the National League as they face further financial uncertainty.
At present, controversial owners Bond Group Investments LTD, led by businessman Jason Whittingham, have failed to sell the struggling club despite multiple deadlines, leaving the vital community sporting organisation on the precipice of complete collapse.
While the seaside team currently have no fixtures to look forward to with the 25/26 season now underway for various parts of the football pyramid, the Greater Manchester outfit, which only recently survived similarly their own precarious circumstances, has offered Morecambe fans free admission.
Although this is a very temporary alternative, with complimentary tickets being offered for Bury’s Northern Premier League West season home opener against Newcastle Town, it is a touching show of support from regional counterparts who know all too well the fear and pain of potential dissolution.
Sharing a post on their official website and social media along with the message, “We’ve been where you are. We stand with you.”, The Shakers have stated that anyone who turns up at Gigg Lane for the game this Saturday, 9 August, with their season ticket or wearing a Morecambe badge can enter for free.
It was only back in 2019 that Bury themselves were expelled from the football league after 125 years as a result of their unpaid debts. It’s fair to say that the state of affairs at Morecambe looks strikingly familiar.
Plenty of clubs have been placed into administration and hit with suspensions over the years, and Bury did go on to reunite their AFC phoenix club back in May 2023, but unfortunately, nothing is ever certain given how money-driven modern football is.
To add more context, Whittingham has been registered as the director of 25 companies during his career, but it’s important to add that a staggering total of 18 have been dissolved (either forcibly or voluntarily), put into administration, liquidated, or put into receivership – the stage before full liquidation.
It remains to be seen how many travelling Shrimps supporters will make the nearly 50-mile journey to 0161 for the game, but Bury’s classy gesture has nevertheless been met with plenty of praise.
For now, it has been reported that Morecambe have anywhere between the end of the week and 20 August – when the National League meets to discuss the matter again – to balance books and/or discover their fate.
The beautiful game belongs to everyone; people of all regions and walks of life, from the grassroots all the way up to the Premier League, and as a footy-obsessed part of the world, we all know all too well how important it is to have these sporting and crucially social outlets in local areas.
Sending all our support to all those at Morecambe FC, and we hope to see these dire straits resolved with the right outcome sooner rather than later.
Bury offering free tickets to Morecambe fans is touching, but when are clubs going to get better protection from questionable ownership?
Rochdale AFC have retired late club legend Joe Thompson’s shirt number
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester club Rochdale AFC have officially retired the number 15 shirt in memory of late midfielder Joe Thompson.
The retired player turned pundit and charity champion, who had to battle three different bouts of cancer, died earlier this year following his final diagnosis of stage four lymphoma.
Sadly passing away at the age of just 36 on 18 April 2025, the Bath-born footballer – who built his life and career here in the North West – was recently honoured with a minute’s silence and charity match between Rochdale and his boyhood club Man United’s under-21s youth side.
Penning an official statement on their website, The Dale wrote: “With the blessing of Joe’s family, we can confirm that First Team squad number 15, the shirt Joe wore with pride during his time at the Club, will be retired in his memory.
“Joe made over 200 appearances across three stints for Dale and became synonymous with the number 15 in his time with us.”
Thompson tragically left behind two kids, Thailula-Lily and Athena Rae, along with his wife, Chantelle, who also helped raise thousands in vital funds for cancer research and treatment here in the UK during his multiple battles.
Rochdale go on to add: “The retirement of Joe’s former squad number is recognition of his impact, not just as a talented football player, but as an incredible person who had a positive impact on everyone who has been touched by his story.
“This is just the second time in our history that a shirt number has been retired, after the number 55 was retired in memory of young Dale fan Joshua McCormack in 2016, who also sadly lost his life to cancer.”
The ex-Man United youth, Rochdale servant and one-time Bury player sadly had to retire due to his recurring illness back in 2019.
His story, however sad, was an inspiring one.
Safe to say that both his final send-off as a professional and tribute match last week were equally emotional days, with the latter ending in a 1-1 draw and an inaugural trophy lifted in his name, with the Red Devils having recently named a new club award after him too.
The United academy graduate has raised more than £20,000 for charity by joining a walk with hundreds of fans, friends and ex-teammates from Old Trafford to Rochdale back in October last year and remained an influential fundraising figure until the very end.
His number may have been retired, but the memory and impact of Joe Thompson live on forever. You can still donate to his cause and pay your respects via the Joey T Foundation HERE.
Rest in peace, Joe.
💙 The Legacy of Joe Thompson Lives On 🙌
Last week we were proud to support the Team Thompson appeal and now the journey continues.💙
Plans are now in motion to create the Joey T Foundation, honouring Joe’s bravery and continuing his legacy by helping others facing cancer. 💪 pic.twitter.com/VZO7Kgq3PP
— Rochdale AFC Community Trust (@RAFCCommunity) August 5, 2025
Georgina Pellant -
6th February 2023 
