I met entrepreneur and property developer Simon Baston nearly a decade ago – he was working on a church restoration in Penarth at the time and pretty impressive it was too. We’ve chatted several times over the years, and the last time we met he unveiled his vision for The Goodsheds in Barry. I liked the concept. A series of interconnecting spaces where people could work, eat, live and play. His idea has now come to fruition and I couldn’t wait until lockdown had eased a bit more so that I could enjoy it to its full capacity.
Having been born and bred in Barry, concepts like this really warm the cockles of my heart as seeing excellent quality businesses being conceived and built in my hometown shows that Barry is on the up. To be fair, barry has been on the up for the last decade and while other towns in the Vale have appeared to stand still, barry has seen its fair share of cranes.
So, what is The Goodsheds? The facility is based on the fringes of Barry’s working docklands and is home to a mixture of the best independent food and drink businesses, boutique retail and lifestyle plus spaces for offices. There’s even an outdoor gym facility and an independent drive through called Junction where you can get your coffee fix.
On the ground floor is The Shipyard where you’ll find the independent food venues. You can either book a table (which are all based in the centre) or order a take-away. Every nationality of cuisine is available from deep fried ice-cream waffles to spicy Mexican dishes, Greek souvlaki to authentic Indian street food and craft beer and gin, not forgetting a Michelin star restaurant at the original Sidings building! There’s only one gift shop on this floor which is ideal to nip into while your order is being cooked!
On the first floor you’ll find The Tracks where Gatwick Express railway carriages which have been transformed into new spaces where the sellers and makers are housed. There’s really everything you’ll need here from an independent florist, a potter (where you can also arrange to throw and decorate your own pot), a record shop and more food and gifts.
On the second floor there are a couple of retail shops selling own brand make up and brushes, a hair salon, and several non-retail businesses.
If cocktails are your thing, then there’s even a cocktail bar on this floor, beautifully decorated with a great cocktail menu. The favourite being the West End Girls!
The Goodsheds are an ideal addition to Barry and complements the popular High Street perfectly. It’s well positioned too – being just inland from Barry Island. You could easily walk to The Goodsheds within five/ten minutes.
On the way out, I couldn’t resist popping into The Junction to pick up my favourite coffee. And, as I sat in my car, I thought what a really cool town Barry is becoming. I loved it when I was a kid and I think I love it even more now.
What I wore…
The weather was a bit changeable so I popped on my mom jeans from M&S, a plain T-shirt also from M&S, a cardigan from Jacquie Dymock (through FB), white trainers from F&F (Tesco), and an old scarf (I can’t remember where that was from).
The Goodsheds
www.goodshedsbarry.co.uk
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