It’s not easy starting a business from scratch, let alone trying to start a hospitality business during a pandemic. But that’s what Claire Whalley, 42, and her husband Tim, 41, did when they opened craft beer bar, Craft Republic, within the Goodsheds development in Barry.
The couple opened the business in 2020, after giving up their corporate jobs and investing £60,000 of their life savings to create a bar where people could try all types of craft beer without having to travel or go to beer festivals.
“We’ve both lived on Barry Island for 17 years and both worked in central Cardiff. We were just fed up all the time of not having to go into Cardiff or trek to Bristol to visit a craft beer bar,” said Claire. “We knew there was nothing like that in Barry so we thought, why don’t we take the risk and be first to market?”
