THE White Horse pub, the latest venue from Elite Bistros, has its official opening date of March 3 with visitors able to book in from tomorrow at 7pm.

The much anticipated opening had been hinted at for the last few weeks as chef and founder Gary Usher documented the mammoth job to renovate the building, which had stood empty for around two and a half years before being purchased by the business in October 2022.

The pub on Chester Road has been the subject of dozens of Twitter posts, as Mr Usher visited the site continuously to keep followers and interested residents in the loop. He described scale of the job to get the White Horse back in working order as more like restoration than refurbishment.

Indeed, the building has been overhauled to the tune of £200,000, including the installation of a new kitchen and prep kitchen, the relocation of the bar and a complete redecoration. The money was raised by 1,352 backers in a crowdfunding scheme. Crowdfunding has been a feature of Elite Bistros restaurants, which include the much loved Sticky Walnut in Hoole and Burnt Truffle in Heswall.

In a post on Twitter this afternoon, Mr Usher said: "We can finally announce that we're opening on the third of March and our booking line goes live from 7pm tomorrow.

"From lunchtime, 12pm on the third of March, The White Horse is open."

He continues: "You can have a pint here on the third of March, you can have fish and chips here on the third of March, you can read a newspaper and do whatever on the third of March, we are going to be open."

The restaurateur added that those who had backed the project would receive early access to booking slots and that there would be a 'kickstarter party' as a thank you to those who had contributed funding to make the opening possible.