A Brewery with Racing History

St Andrews Beach Brewery isn't your typical craft beer destination. Located in Fingal on the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour and a half south of Melbourne, this venue offers a rich history and expansive grounds that set it apart.

"What makes our place a little bit different to others is we're on 92 acres. And the 92 acres used to be a horse training facility," explains the brewery representative. "The previous owners were the Freedman Brothers. They had horses like Makybe Diva, Alinghi, Mummify. Some pretty good race horses back in the day."

This storied property found new life around 2012-2013 when the Freedman Brothers decided to go their separate ways, creating an opportunity for new ownership with a vision.

"My old man is a St Andrews Beach local. He kind of jumped at the chance to take it on and turn it into a venue of some sort and turned it into what we have today."

The transformation wasn't without scepticism: "To be honest, like when he first pitched the idea, I was like, that's bizarre and crazy. Craft beer, I suppose, was still in its infancy a little bit in terms of awareness and stuff."

Managing Seasonal Demand in a Massive Venue

The brewery's coastal location creates dramatic seasonal fluctuations that present unique operational challenges.

"Where we're located, it's berserk down here in summer, like the population triples. So word of mouth for us was huge because at the time we were pretty small, didn't have a marketing budget."

With converted horse stables now serving as distinctive dining areas, the venue can accommodate significant numbers: "In the stable areas that we have here alone, we can sit up to 180 people. So servicing that amount of people on a busy Saturday is obviously pretty important."

This scale created service bottlenecks that impacted customer experience: "In the main venue here, we've only really got two tap banks and when you've got a heaving venue and seating inside, the old way, it used to clog up quite a bit in terms of the lines and people might have to wait, you know, 15, 20 minutes for a drink."

me&u: The Perfect Solution for Scale

After seeing me&u in action at another large venue, the brewery team recognised its potential for their own operation.

"I saw it up at Felons in Queensland. It's such a big venue. They had all the dispense bars set up specifically for online ordering. And then we saw just the amount of people that they were servicing as well."

The implementation of me&u's ordering platform has transformed service across the sprawling property:

"Adding the technology in has been huge for us because it's such a big space to service people more efficiently and quickly. The menu platforms have been huge for us to get people ordering more quickly and give them a better experience."

Operational Improvements and Revenue Growth

The brewery has reconfigured their operations to maximise the benefits of digital ordering:

"We've got a dispense bar now that just purely runs drinks. So they can then order through QR code and then obviously all the drinks flow out that way. So it alleviates the lines in the venue."

This streamlined approach has delivered measurable financial benefits:

"When people are using the menu platform we definitely see the average order value go up. You know, even when I'm here with my mates, when they can just order through the QR code, they tend to spend a little bit more too. So definitely seen an increase in terms of order value and order frequency for sure."

Data-Driven Marketing Advantage

Beyond operational efficiencies, me&u has provided valuable customer insights that drive the brewery's marketing strategy:

"For us, one of the biggest benefits of the platform is we get a lot of customer data from the table ordering itself. And a lot of that data flows into our CRM, which we can then reach people with."

This data helps inform product development decisions:

"We're always bringing in new products and trialling them on tap in particular. If they go really well, they tend to obviously sell out more quickly. So they're the ones that we look to potentially bring out as a limited release or add to the range at some point."

The results speak for themselves: "We've seen our database grow massively since we've integrated that all in together. So being able to reach more people more efficiently has been great."

Addressing Hospitality's Labour Challenges

In an industry facing staffing shortages, me&u offers a practical solution:

"Staff are hard to get in hospitality. So, you know, if you can take away some of the customer-facing stuff, particularly in busy venues, will save you a lot of time and labour. So that's obviously important."

The brewery has also benefited from me&u's service approach: "Always had an account manager. They're always super responsive to anything that we had."

Historical Charm Meets Modern Efficiency

St Andrews Beach Brewery demonstrates how even the most unique venues with challenging layouts can embrace technology to enhance their operations. By implementing me&u's ordering platform, they've preserved the distinctive character of their converted racing stables while delivering the efficient service modern customers expect.

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