Barry Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these businesses and organisations in a feature called 'Up Close in Barry'.

This week we spoke to Claire and Tim Whalley, the couple behind Craft Republic and the brilliant Barry Island Spirits Co.

Last week we heard the news we'd been so looking forward to – from 26 April, outdoor hospitality spaces can open for business.

Finally, that dream of enjoying a drink in our favourite pubs, restaurants and bars is within touching distance.

For Claire and Tim Whalley, owners of Craft Republic at the GoodSheds, that date can't come soon enough.

The husband-and-wife duo opened their bar and bottle shop between lockdowns on 26 August last year, and since then they've become used to adapting.

"Since day one, all we had was change, said Claire.

"I think every week we were open as the bar, we had to change something, whether it was our opening hours, the number of people that could sit at the table, social distancing, collecting details, booking systems.

"So, we're pretty agile now.

"When something happens, it's frustrating, and you can get upset by it. But I think you just have to come to terms with it and look at what you need to do for your business next.

"I have a newfound respect for independent business owners that have been hit by this."

In fact, Tim described how they built a Covid-proof business, without realising that's what they were doing.

"We were always going to be a bottle shop," he said.

"We also ordered our canning machine about this time last year, and it arrived just before the firebreak.

"It meant that we can actually give our customers fresh beer directly from the tap to take home. Because of that we're still putting loads of new beers on which is supporting the breweries.

"We always wanted it as part of our business, but that machine has meant that we've been able to continue to operate.

"We've got a really core group of regulars who order week in, week out. Considering we actually only operated as a bar for eleven weeks out of the six months we've been open, we're really grateful for it.

"They've just been amazing and supported us."

As Barry Island residents, Claire and Tim knew that community spirit was strong, but being based at the GoodSheds, they've discovered a collaborative rather than competitive ethos between the independent businesses.

"The goodwill, the support and the relationships have built up," said Claire.

"The likes of Cocoa Therapy, Hang Fire, GoodWash, Vic Hopkins and Wild Meadow we count as really good friends now.

"Everybody just wants everyone else to succeed. By pulling together in that way, we're working to create a destination for Barry to really put it on the map.

"So rather than focusing on kind of our own little world, by collaborating, it's helping to showcase and highlight the other amazing businesses in Barry."

To support their neighbours, Craft Republic patrons can bring food from other GoodSheds venues to enjoy with their drinks.

In return, Bab Haus Mex have used Craft Republic beers in their dishes, and RhiWax, Matthew Jones Ceramics and Craft Republic collaborated on Barry Island Gin candles.

Speaking of which, how could we not talk about the Barry Island Gin?

A "fresh quartet of blood orange, lime, juniper and thyme on the nose" describes the spirit inspired by the island, which has gone on to national success and led to a separate business: Barry Island Spirits.

"We're big gins fans, like a lot of people, and we looked really hard to find a local craft gin," said Claire.

"Our whole ethos is that we only support independent businesses and businesses that really care about the quality.

"A lot of our products have a sustainable or an ethical aspect to them, we're real living wage employers ourselves, employing people who live locally."

"We basically created the bar we'd want to go to the gin we'd want to drink," said Tim.

"It was only supposed to be a house pour in here.

"Two and a half thousand bottles later, it's in Heston Blumenthal's Michelin star restaurant and the Sunday Times Magazine. It's just gone berserk!"

The gin led to a Barry Island Rum, both of which are now shipped all over the UK, and a vodka and pink gin are in the works…

"We've actually had to take another space to support the spirits company, and that will obviously also create new jobs because we're going to need a warehouse operative, help with marketing, and more people for the bar as well," said Tim.

"We just wanted a really nice product that was unique to us. The growth of the spirits has just been insane."

While Barry Island Spirit Co. has taken off, Craft Republic bottle shop has also seen a healthy flow of trade.

Customers can either order their drinks for delivery within two miles for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, click and collect their choices or visit the bottle shop in person.

"It's just having to innovate and make it as easy as possible for people to order from us," said Tim.

"Some people like to come in, see the beers and have a conversation. Others don't want that because they're shielding, so the delivery works really well.

"With the click and collect, you arrange a time, come to the back door and ring the doorbell. We make sure it's sitting there ready for you."

These popular lockdown services have already led to questions about what Craft Republic will be like when it reopens as a bar.

"A lot of people have asked about capacity and other factors, but we're probably not going to change too much from how we are now," said Claire.

"We really like this more personalized, higher quality, enjoyable experience, we're not going to run the place and cram it so that you can't move or so that it's too loud to have a conversation.

"We're not going to compromise on the quality of the products that we have."

"People are saying we could open other Craft Republics, but we have no desire to do that," said Tim.

"I think you compromise the level of customer service and the quality when you try and replicate it in multiple locations, because it's very hard to properly instil that quality that we created and that we were passionate about."

"We've worked in corporate jobs; our son has grown up and moved out of home. We wanted to do something together, that we were passionate about, and that we really enjoyed," said Claire.

"Craft Republic embodies that."