- Southampton’s only dedicated craft beer, wine and cider shop starts trading under its new name
- Full original team remains in place
Southampton’s only dedicated craft beer, wine and cider retailer at 45 Bedford Place has revealed its new name and logo – Good Libations.
The rebrand transforms what had been the Unity Bottleshop & Tasting Room following the closure of Unity Brewing Co in February. The shop’s existing staff is all retained, with Unity’s founder Jimmy Hatherley stepping into a new role as owner-manager of Good Libations.
“We’re really excited to launch Good Libations as a home for craft beer and wine retail in the city,” he says. “Our mission is to bring the people of Southampton some of the best quality, most delicious and most interesting drinks from the UK and beyond that you just can’t get in the supermarkets, and to share our enthusiasm and passion for delicious drinks for every palate and preference.”
The wide product range spans 200+ craft beers, 100+ wines and a curated range of ciders, spirits and no/low-alcohol drinks, many of them produced using low intervention and natural methods.
The shop also offers tasting benches – as well as a Belgian beer cafe-style snug – with space for around 20 customers to taste their purchases on-site for a small corkage fee. Alongside cans from the fridges, there are six taps of fresh beer to sample plus wines by the glass.
The premises has continuously been an off-licence for over 100 years, more recently as Cloud Wine – where Jimmy in fact worked in his twenties.
He is focused on creating a warm and approachable environment in Good Libations where customers can ask questions and get to know the team. “Our new name sums up the positive vibe that we’re inviting customers to join us in – we want to build a really welcoming community around the shop,” he says. “And we’re launching a loyalty discount card this weekend to give our customers something back when they shop with us.”
Jimmy is optimistic about the shop reopening through the cost of living crisis. “Craft beer, wine and cider has never been more exciting, with so many people discovering more variety to what they enjoy over the past few years,” he says. “But with it being so expensive to drink out at the moment, we’ve seen more and more people wanting to buy interesting drinks to enjoy at home.”
The shop will be open seven days a week from March 6 onwards.
It will also host a ‘Farewell to Unity Brewing Co’ party on Saturday 25 Feb, 12pm-10pm, where everyone is welcome to enjoy the final Unity beers.
People can sign up to the Good Libations newsletter on its current website and follow it on Facebook and Instagram.
Press release from Good Libations.
FOR INTERVIEWS & HI-RES PHOTOGRAPHY:
Jimmy Hatherley
Owner-Manager
Good Libations shop@goodlibations.co.uk 07752 763 455 / 02381 157 210