by Tammy Kuo.
The founders of Auckland-based business The Beer Spot aimed to get five sites up and running in five years. And they recently hit this goal in four years and four months!
But what happened when the lockdowns hit? Founder and owner Jason Payn tells me that they were so far down the road, they couldn’t stop. “It wasn’t a bravery thing. We just keep on keeping on. We were just sticking to the plan, and taking it one step at a time”.
The Beer Spot has forty different beers on tap at every venue, and new flavours updated weekly. Suffice to say, they offer the ultimate beer experience. And their customers clearly love what they do – they recently won People’s Choice in the Westpac Auckland Business Awards!
Retail NZ is proud to be supporting The Beer Spot as a member.
Jason tells us that “You notice especially in the hard times, how supportive Retail NZ is of our business. It’s really important to belong to an association that understands your business. And at every stage of lockdown, Retail NZ were advocating for small business. It was humbling and encouraging, and every week we were getting results. Retail NZ is a constant presence for us as business owners – questioning the government, reacting fast during lockdown, and giving us good fact-based information”.
As a Retail NZ member, The Beer Spot gets special merchant fees.
Jason says, “It’s great that Westpac offers us reduced card rates, with our Retail NZ membership. But I’d class all assistance as benefits, beyond the discounts. We see Retail NZ as a place to go for info, and when we need to make a call, they’re a really good reference point.”
We’re glad to be there for The Beer Spot, while they collaborate with Kiwi businesses.
Their suppliers are 100% homegrown. Also, they regularly celebrate a “Brew Buddy of the Month”, which is a monthly feature of one supplier, on six taps. There’s a different Brew Buddy at each site, each month, so every month they feature five local suppliers. It allows a brewery from anywhere in New Zealand to establish their presence in Auckland.
“The Beer Spot supports the great, independent New Zealand breweries. There are over 250 of them from the top to the bottom of Aotearoa. We’re so proud to be pouring beer from award winning breweries, and really grateful there are enough beers so the Tap 40 is changing all the time. That’s what it’s all about. Great local beer”, says Jason.
Winners of the 2019 Retail NZ Innovation award, The Beer Spot have been focusing on business at home over the crazy year that was 2020. And now in 2021, fellow founder Laurence van Dam is currently in New South Wales, with their plans to expand to Australia steadily moving forward! We’re very excited to see The Beer Spot’s next steps transpire.