‘We gambled our life savings to open a boozer and we’d never even pulled a pint’

A couple invested their life savings into opening a bar even though they'd never even pulled a pint before.

Claire Whalley, 42, and her husband Tim, 41, thought they were going to "lose it all" during the pandemic, but they now turnover £500,000, and have launched a second business which has a stamp of approval from Heston Blumenthal.

The pair had never even worked in a pub when they decided to gamble their life savings, and start a fully independent craft beer business.

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The couple had a rocky start trying to launch their bar in March 2020, but they now have the title of UK's Best Independent Craft Beer Bar or Pub (City) from the UK SIBA awards.

Claire said the couple had some really "low" moments during the pandemic due to the fact the rules were changing so often.

They had to "think on their feet" to make sure the business didn't fail.

She said: "We had put £60,000 of our own money, our life savings, into making Craft Republic a success and it was that determination to make it work that made us so willing to adapt to the conditions of the pandemic.

"We had the skills and tenacity to do it but it was upsetting and stressful.

"There were times we thought we could lose it all."

The couple, who live in Barry Island, South Wales, met in 2007 in Cardiff through their corporate marketing careers.

They started dating and later that year Tim moved from Cardiff to live with Claire and her son.

Until then she'd been a single mum since the age of 15, and she worked her way up in the communications and marketing sector. which is how she came to work with Tim.

In 2009 the couple got married and went on honeymoon to San Francisco where Claire discovered a love for craft beer.

When they returned home they tried a range of new bars, and testing beers became a bit of a hobby.

The only snag was they got fed up of always having to travel away from home for a decent pint.

They spent 10 years saving up to try and fulfil their dream of creating a craft beer bar in Barry, so they wouldn't have to always go to the city centre 30 minutes away in Cardiff.

Then, in March 2020, they opened Craft Republic, a fully independent bar inside the Goodsheds development, but they couldn't have customers inside.

To become self-employed they traded in their £40,000 and £50,000 salaries for an unknown future.

Claire said: "It was a carefully executed risk.

"We decided that with our son settled in his own place, and because we had so many working years left that if we lost everything at least we could restart our corporate careers and our son wouldn't be homeless.

"Once the pandemic hit we were bereft but adapted quickly.

"Soon the bar had queues around the corner for canned beers, and we even started a click and collect service which is still in operation."

Their site includes a bottle shop with a canning machine for people to take freshly poured draught beer home.

Claire and Tim built the brand and bar from scratch themselves – from designing the layout for the architects to the website, and even the wallpapering.

Throughout the last two years they have adapted and grown their business again and again to meet the changing hospitality landscape.

They've also started an "accidental" second business after an idea to develop a local house gin to be enjoyed in Craft Republic spiralled into a whole spirits range – and a new company.

Now the Barry Island Spirits Co gins and rums have been awarded Great Taste awards two years in a row, and Claire and Tim have separated the Barry Island Spirits Co from their bar, and have a new store on High Street, Barry, which opened in December.

A lot of the botanicals used in their spirits are grown on the couple's Barry Island allotment.

Now they distribute Barry Island Gin, Rum and Vodka all over the UK, and supply bars, restaurants and retails including Heston Blumenthal's Michelin Star restaurant, the Hinds Head in Bray, Berkshire.

Claire added: "When we launched Barry Island gin we thought we'd sell a bottle a week max.

"But the demand surprised us – in four months we sold 2000 bottles.

"We realised that what started out as an add-on to the bar had infinite growth potential.

"Now we want to grow the brand and continue to enjoy our work in and around Barry Island by taking our spirits out on the road to markets and festivals all year round alongside working in the shop and for trade.

"For us it's the right mix of creativity, hard work and spending time together, all of our favourite things."

This year Claire and Tim also took part in a documentary with their business coach Cassandra Boddington called Business as Unusual about how they survived and thrived during the pandemic, which is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

You can read more about Craft Republic on their website.

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