Gyre & Gimble will open a gin academy and retail store in Unit 6 of the Royal Arcade Norwich and will aim to open in early June.
Gyre & Gimble is co-owned by Craig Allison and Rory Smith who have been running the business since late 2019 from its Charing Cross premises in Norwich city centre where they have a bar, distillery and gin academy. The new presence in the Arcade will enable them to increase the number of gin school sessions they run as part of the academy and extend their retail offering beyond online with a bricks-and-mortar store.
Gyre & Gimble’s academy enables customers to learn what ingredients make the best gin and distil their own concoction which is bottled for them to take home as part of the experience. A key element of the academy experience is a number of gin tastings throughout the session. Currently, the majority of academy bookings are made online through the company’s website as well as a number of companies specialising in experience packages.
As Craig explains, the Royal Arcade will attract a new channel of customers, “Because of its location, footfall and ambience, the Royal Arcade will make our business much more of a destination experience where people can book a session at the academy as part of a full day out where they can also enjoy some of the other delights on offer in the Arcade. Our gin academy sessions are great fun to do in couples or small groups and bring an extra dimension to a day out in the city.
“As well as expanding our academy sessions, the unit we have in the Royal Arcade will give us enough room to be able to provide a fuller retail offering with our own products as well as drinks from all over the world. We’re aiming to have Norwich’s largest selection of spirits under one roof.”