Celebrated chef Gary Usher has revealed the location of his first ever gastropub - but the announcement soon became embroiled in a debate about whether dogs should be welcomed inside pubs or not.
Gary, the man behind acclaimed restaurants like Kala in Manchester, Hispi in Didsbury and Sticky Walnut in Chester, has confirmed that he is in the final stages of purchasing a derelict pub in Cheshire to transform into his Elite Bistros group's first "gastropub".
At the weekend chef Gary revealed on his social media accounts that the pub in question is the historic White Horse in Churton, near Chester, that he is the process of purchasing.
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Confirming the news, Gary tweeted: "I’m a terrible business person because I can’t keep my mouth shut when I’m excited. We are in the middle of buying the white horse pub in Churton but it’s not complete.
"I’ve always loved it there and it would be a dream for us to run it. The pub is beautiful and so is the area. My mum and dad live a few minutes away so I’m very familiar with the area and walking my dog Billy there with my mum and dad's dog Rossa.
"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.
"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.
"I'm super keen to hear what the local community like. all I ask Go easy on us,this is our first pub, we wont get it all right straight away."
Naturally, the well-known chef's hundreds of followers had lots of comments and questions about the new opening - with one follower asking "dog friendly I hope?" to which Gary replied: "Of course!"
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But that swiftly led to some critics saying they would be giving the pub a SWERVE if it had a dog friendly policy.
One, called @RammieMan, said: "No thanks. Too many people thinking dogs in pubs is a good idea. Dogs are not people and shouldn’t be treated as such."
Gary responded saying: "If you don’t like dogs in pubs I’d swerve coming to one of ours then. Dogs will be treated like royalty and I will probably most commonly be found rolling around the floor with them."
It soon sparked a debate among other Tweeters, with most leaping to agree with Gary - and some saying dogs were better behaved than owners in many pubs.
Cafe owner Barry Ashley said: "I have 3 cafes, I allow dogs in. I have barred humans but never a dog. What if dogs had their own Twitter what a great place that would be? The only thing they would be slagging off would be squirrels."
Adam Wizcombe said: "The majority of people in the country eat with dogs or cats in the room. I can’t talk though because I don’t like it if people let kids scream in a restaurant. (But I don’t stare or moan.)"
Rachel Auty said simply: "What even is a pub without a dog?"
Should dogs be allowed in pubs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments
But others had negative experiences of dogs in pubs. Lynda Ross tweeted: "I was in a pub where a dog ran up to me, urinated on the floor and the owner thought it was hilarious. Not the dog's fault but owners need to take responsibility."
Gary tweeted another person who was that annoyed about the dog policy he said he'd "rather be starving and crawl to the next normal restaurant" than patronise his pub by saying: "Didn't realise liking dogs was so controversial. Chris would rather starve".
The White Horse is close to The Grosvenor pub at Aldford, which Gary described as a "powerhouse of a pub", and The Raven at Farndon - which he said his parents love to visit.
He said he hoped that what he can bring will complement the pub and restaurant offering rather than "rival" other hospitality owners in the area like Brunning and Price.
He said: "If we get The White Horse we are surrounded by such great pubs and hopefully we can complement all."
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