The Craft & Co

There’s no fast or easy way to explain The Craft & Co. The two-storey warehouse contains a cafe, restaurant, bar, 120-litre distillery, 1000-litre brewery, wood-fired bakery – still with us? – bottle shop, deli, cheese-making room, charcuterie-making room and coffee roaster.

Owner Paul Baggio has been running wholesale food and beverage companies since the late ‘90s, supplying equipment, packaging and marketing advice to cheese factories, bakers, breweries, wineries and the like. The Craft & Co brings all his accumulated expertise to bear.

Its various facets are staffed by a rotating roster of aspiring “makers”, who produce most of the in-house products, from beer and vodka, to cheese and coffee. Pairing these is a core aim – if the brewery has just made a citrus-driven pale ale, fish spiked with coriander might be on the menu. The central kitchen is run by a permanent staff, which pumps out simple breakfasts, and at night, crowd-pleasing food such as pastas, burgers and wood-fired pizzas.

The Craft & Co also owns a 40-acre site at Bangholme, where up-and-coming winemakers cultivate vines, and hops and herbs are grown.