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.
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“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.
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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.
Manchester to host G20 Summit in 2027 with more than a dozen world leaders descending on the city
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed as the host city for the G20 Summit next year.
It was already announced back in November last year that the G20 Summit would be coming to the UK in 2027, and plans were apparently already being discussed to host it in Manchester even before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister and Number 10 North was set up.
But now, ahead of this year’s leaders’ summit being held in Miami in December, it has been confirmed that the G20 Summit will arrive in Manchester in November 2027.
Manchester is said to have been picked to host the leaders’ summit because of its ‘cultural heritage’.
Bringing together 19 of the world’s largest economies and two major multilateral bodies – the European Union and the African union – G20 members who will be invited to attend the summit next year make up 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population as a whole.
Manchester has been confirmed to host the G20 Summit in 2027 / Credit: 10 Downing Street | Paul Kagame (Flickr)
G20 members are also some of the UK’s closest economic partners, the Government insists.
17 of the UK’s top 20 global export markets attend the summit, as do 18 of the UK’s top 20 sources of foreign direct investment.
The presidency of the G20 is currently held by the US but will pass to the UK after the leaders’ summit hosted by the president at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in December.
The 2027 summit will be held at Manchester Central, it has been confirmed, and other locations across the UK will also host other G20 events as part of the year-long presidency, but these are yet to be announced.
Featured Image – Google Maps
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Niall Horan at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Former One Direction member now-soloist Niall Horan is making his return to Co-op Live as part of his UK shows: ‘Dinner Party Live On Tour’.
Known for his work alongside One Direction bandmates Harry, Louis, Liam and Zayn, Horan has since started a solo career and continued to have a large fanbase.
His singles include ‘Nice To Meet Ya’, ‘Heaven’, ‘Drive Safe’ and ‘This Town’ with the latter amassing over 1 billion streams since its release in 2017.
Collaborating with the likes of pop artist Anne-Marie, Myles Smith, Maren Morris, the Irish-born musician’s style fuses both acoustic and country sounds.
Niall’s most recent LP Dinner Party dropped earlier this summer with the album title inspired by his initial encounter with his long-time girlfriend.
Gig guide – Niall Horan at Co-op Live, Manchester
Niall Horan UK tour dates
Tue 22 September – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Wed 23 September – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 25 September – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 28 September – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tue 29 September – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 2 October – London, UK – The O2
Sat 3 October – London, UK – The O2
Are there any tickets left for Niall Horan at Co-op Live in Manchester?
If you’ve got ‘Slow Hands’ then you better get booking tickets to Niall Horan’s upcoming concert at Co-op Live in Manchester now as they’re selling pretty quickly.
You can find tickets for both seated and standing options starting from £50.75 HERE.
Although the official setlist for Niall Horan’s upcoming Dinner Party Live On Tour is yet to be revealed, here’s the tracklist for his most recent LP of the same name:
Tastes So Good
Dinner Party
Monochromatic
She Gets It From Her Mother
Better Man
Little More Time
Flowers
Boys Are Fun
Fighting Over Nothing
Pretty
Die If I Don’t
End of an Era
What are the stage times for Niall Horan in Manchester?
Doors for Niall Horan open from 6.30pm and expect to fall in love with singer-songwriter flowerovlove who will take to the stage just before.
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning you have a ‘Little More Time’ to lie in before the clock hits twelve.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Georgina Pellant -
6th February 2023 
