Having established Teller restaurant in Mooroopna many years earlier, moving it to Shepparton and growing it into the Teller Collective, incorporating the Fryers Street Food Store and function venue The Vault, the couple eventually sold and relocated to the 150-acre property on the outskirts of picturesque Beechworth where they live today.
Daina became the manager of Milawa’s Brown Brothers Winery restaurant and Matt took up various, less-demanding jobs, discovering along the way that he preferred working for himself.
In 2018, they were ready to open another business of their own, and, to the fortune of the Goulburn Valley crowd, earmarked Shepparton as the perfect spot.
The decision was both tactical and personal.
“We just looked at the size of Shepparton and considered it didn’t have a brewery,” Daina said.
“Shepparton’s always been good to us. And it’s as busy on a Thursday night as it is on a Saturday night.”
Daina, who knows a thing or 10 about the industry, puts the consistency down to the city being primarily a business hub, unlike tourist towns where crowds swell on a weekend, but can be ghost towns on weekdays.
The pair opened Shepparton Brewery in April, 2019.
It was different again to the fine-dining establishments they were used to, but it gave them an opportunity to deliver their quality dishes in a more casual space.
The business got traction quickly because of their reputation.
“Matt is a great chef,” Daina said.
“Everyone starts with the same ingredients, but it’s the skills they have behind them to turn those ingredients into something special.”
And what’s a brewery without brews?
It’s not just the woodfired pizzas and delicious eggplant chips that have drawn crowds.
Locally brewed beer, distilled gin and vodka, along with the yet-to-be-sampled whiskey ageing gracefully in barrels, are a giddy claim to fame for the entrepreneurs, but also for the people of Shepparton, to be proud of beverages produced in their home town.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, including the fallout of staffing shortages in its wake, and an unstable economy, Daina and Matt’s seven years have been a successful and fulfilling ride.
But now it’s time for them to apply some pressure to the brakes.
“We’ve taken it to where we can take it; it’s ready for the next level,” Daina said, after confirming she and Matt put the brewery on the market in September.
Being actively involved in all their ventures has meant long hours, far from home.
With three teenagers, aged 14, 16 and 18, and ageing parents, their next one will be closer to where they reside in Beechworth.
What it will be, is not yet known, but it will likely still be in the realm of hospitality.
“If it’s in you, it’s in you; it’s in your blood,” Daina said.
“But it has to be on a lesser level now.”
Anyone interested in continuing Daina and Matt’s legacy at the brewery, can check out the sale listing at kevinhicksrealestate.com.au/listings/business_sale-4731520-shepparton/
