Gwent has got its first ever micro cocktail bar serving drinks in a tiny venue in Abergavenny.
The Balcony Bar opened in March, and has already had a number of bookings as far ahead as August.
Guests can book for small tables or private functions in the venue, which is set to expand this summer.
Read more about Abergavenny here.
You can find The Balcony Bar on Lewis’ Lane. It's the brainchild of Ben Ward, an Abergavenny local who runs the Beer Box Company, a mobile drinks business specialising in weddings and other events.
Ben, 28, says that the coronavirus pandemic forced him to adapt his business to survive.
He said: "I've been doing a mobile bar and cocktail delivery package service for the last two years. And now that restrictions are lifting, I thought now would be a good time to open the bar.
"In lockdown, I lost about 20 wedding bookings so my salary disappeared. We came up with the idea to create DIY cocktail boxes, which replaced the loss that we had.
"Last summer we did 50 events in total. In a weird way, I think the pandemic actually helped to grow the business."
The bar is located upstairs in clothing store Vive Ut Vivas, which is run by Ben's friend James. It was named after the unique shape of the bar, which overlooks the shop and street below.
Ben continued: "I wanted to open a quirky little place in Abergavenny and add something really modern to the town. You can only fit about 20 seated at one time. In the summer, we will have more seating outside and will have live music and street food too.
"The response so far has been great. The community is really supportive. And it's nice to share the space with another local business so we can help each other.
"We've had people come from Cardiff, Cwmbran, and Brecon already, which is really good to see."
Balcony Bar also offer cocktail classes alongside drinks bookings and private functions.
The bar is already proving to be in strong demand for locals and has been fully booked since they opened. It now has over 400 people booked in, with tables reserved right up until August of this year.
Find out more about the business and make a booking here
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