What to Know About Adding Food to a Brewery

Running a successful craft brewery is not only about great beer, it’s about delivering an enjoyable, memorable experience. Often, that involves providing not just a pint, but offering guests the ability to eat, socialize, and have the total experience without leaving your taproom. However, adding another revenue stream requires a thoughtful strategy and flawless operational execution. In this article we explore the advantages of adding food at a brewery and provide real life considerations of what it takes to do so profitably.

Research the Local Market & Talent Pool

Brewery operators generally have a few options when considering how to add food: they can add a kitchen to their existing location, partner with a nearby restaurant, or host a separate food vendor on their own property in their existing space or via food truck. 

The ideal first step is to take the time to survey the existing market by talking to your local brewers association, visiting other breweries and restaurants in your area, and tapping into your extended network of food and beverage entrepreneurs. 

• Take Stock of the The Available Talent Pool

With restaurant turnover averaging up to 75%, staffing is a key element in your decision making process. Because your goal is to increase revenue while minimizing operational disruptions to your brewery’s day-to-day routine, ensure you understand the local staffing scene. Is there a reliable supply of kitchen managers? Is there high turnover in the back-of-house? Can you recruit skilled kitchen staff locally?

• Take a Pulse of Local Food Trends 

One of the most effective ways to spot local food trends is to stay tapped into multiple sources of real-time insight. Start by subscribing to local food sections of media outlets like Eater, Thrillist, or TimeOut, and follow smaller, independent food bloggers or Substacks who often highlight emerging micro-trends before they go mainstream. Don’t overlook your suppliers either—distributors, wholesalers, and sales reps have visibility across many venues and can tell you what products are being reordered often or newly requested. 

Keep an eye on platforms like OpenTable to see which restaurants or events are consistently booked up, and pay attention to long lines at pop-ups or food trucks—these are strong indicators of rising demand. If you run a venue, one of the best sources of trend intel is your own guests; take a moment to chat with regulars or ask a quick question during checkout like, “Tried anything new or cool lately?” You’d be surprised how much you can learn from those casual conversations.

Align Your Concept with Staffing & Efficiency

Because the key is to enhance customer experience without overwhelming your operations, your future food program should balance what you want to offer with what is feasible in your market. Consider:

• Larger Menus attract a diverse customer base but require more staff and tighter cost control to keep food costs under control. They can also be difficult for a new kitchen team to manage.
• Smaller, Streamlined Menus are easier to manage, reduce waste, and allow for faster service with new or fewer staff members.

Budgeting & Infrastructure Costs

One of the largest budget impacts will be local building codes. For example, if your menu requires deep fryers, you’ll likely need a vent hood and fire suppression system—which can cost $30,000+. Get ahead of these costs to avoid unexpected budget overruns.

Consider your investment options:

• Add a Full Service Kitchen: Although incorporating a comprehensive kitchen represents a significant expenditure and may seem extravagant in today's economic climate, the numerous profit-enhancing advantages warrant consideration of the investment. Primarily, it allows you to tailor your menu, pricing, and selections to cater to your guests' specific tastes. Furthermore, introducing a kitchen will create additional revenue opportunities through online and third-party orders, thereby broadening your market reach and potential income sources.
• Add a Food Truck Business at Your Location: A lower cost alternative to adding a full service kitchen to your brewery is to incorporate a food truck at your location. Although this can lead to considerable savings, it presents similar operational hurdles around licensing, staffing, etc. What’s more, adding a food truck to your brewery introduces additional logistical considerations around available space, menu choices and seasonal variations that can influence its accessibility at different times of the year.
• Collaborate with a Local Eatery or Partnering with a Food Truck(s): Numerous breweries have addressed the food dilemma by teaming up with a local restaurant or hosting a rotating selection of food trucks. This approach offers an efficient and budget-friendly method for providing food options at your brewery while minimizing complications. The crucial aspect is to make certain that the experience of ordering and payment for guests is smooth and hassle-free.

‍GoTab's Marketplace enables breweries to collaborate with multiple food trucks or third-party restaurants, creating a smooth experience for patrons. Customers can access all menus using a single QR code or kiosk, and those providing table service can pull up all menus from a single POS. This allows guests to place food orders without waiting in various lines. All purchases are consolidated on one tab, which helps reduce processing fees. Additionally, breweries can effortlessly manage rent holdbacks, gratuity percentages, and more through the GoTab platform.

Choose a Service Model – Full Service, Counter Service, Hybrid Service

Deciding between full service, counter or hybrid service depends on your taproom’s environment and customer flow.

• Full Service is perfect for establishing a formal dining atmosphere, though it necessitates additional personnel and table oversight. Well-trained staff can enhance the experience, making it more inviting and financially rewarding.

• Counter Service is the prevalent service style in breweries, effectively reducing labor costs and aligning with the relaxed, enjoyable vibe that many breweries aim for. Guests often engage in activities such as cornhole or darts, valuing mobility over conventional dining, which also minimizes staffing needs. However, during peak hours, waiting in long lines to place food or drink orders can be frustrating for patrons.
• Hybrid Service combines classic full-service hospitality with contemporary self-service features, providing enhanced control and convenience for both guests and operators in the hospitality industry.

GoTab can significantly contribute by offering a versatile point-of-sale system that accommodates full-service, counter-service, and hybrid models, enhancing order management, payment processing, and kitchen productivity. On busier evenings, staff can utilize GoTab’s Handheld POS to roam the venue to take orders, reducing wait times at the bar and creating a more welcoming atmosphere for guests. Patrons have the option to order directly from their table and can also split their bills with fellow diners. GoTab conveniently handles all the calculations for bill splitting and finalizing payments.

Menu Makeup and Pricing Strategy

Ensure your brand image corresponds with the cuisine you offer. For a unique, innovative brewery, unconventional dishes might be fitting. Conversely, if you specialize in German Lagers, pairing them with traditional German dishes would enhance your theme. Maintain a cohesive identity throughout!

• If your clientele has a bit more disposable income, you might consider implementing a farm-to-table concept. 
• For guests who are more cost-conscious, sticking with your regular restaurant supplier would be ideal. 
• If your location draws a considerable number of tourists year-round, you are in an advantageous position; however, it's essential to think about how to engage local customers during the off-peak seasons when tourist numbers dwindle. 
• If your audience consists of young professionals in their twenties, think about incorporating trendy shareable dishes. 
• Conversely, if your demographic leans towards an older crowd that enjoys craft beer, traditional pub dishes like burgers, fried items, and chili could be appealing. 
• Additionally, if families frequent your establishment, offering a few kid-friendly options might be worthwhile.

It takes a focused strategy to maximize profits. If you raise the price of fries by a dollar and the volume of orders barely drops you have probably found a good price. If you raise your burgers by two dollars and the orders drop off tremendously you have priced yourself out of the market.  Monitor the data to help make your decisions and increase your profits where you can.

The Social Glue: Food’s Role in Brewery Atmosphere and Socialization

One of the more subtle yet essential advantages of incorporating food into your taproom is the way it transforms the ambiance. While beer has always fostered social interactions, pairing it with food creates a more inviting and communal setting, encouraging patrons to linger and connect with one another. Your brewery's reputation is likely to improve as a result. The traditional bar business model is declining, and the demand for a strong food menu is on the rise in today's market. Consumers are no longer just drawn to new beer flavors; they seek an entire experience. Stay true to your identity as an exceptional brewery that offers a distinctive atmosphere, one that cannot be easily replicated.

To-Go and Beyond: Leveraging Food for Takeout and Additional Sales

When you add food service, don’t overlook the opportunities for to-go sales and extending your reach beyond just dine-in. A kitchen can unlock new revenue streams like takeout, delivery, and even packaged products that complement your beer-to-go offerings.

Integrating a food delivery app with your kitchen can reach people that would normally not come into the brewery. The food delivery market is growing double digit every year. This can easily be a good increase in your overall revenue.

GoTab provides a comprehensive Online Ordering solution that enables operators to effortlessly receive orders through their website, social media platforms, email, or any other channels they use to connect with customers. Furthermore, the GoTab Online Ordering Aggregation gathers orders from various third-party marketplaces into a single location. This integration of online ordering with aggregation significantly expands your reach, reduces operational expenses and costs, delivering a powerful advantage for breweries.

Cheers to Pints and Plates

Offering food service to a brewery is a strategic move that can significantly enhance the customer experience and increase revenue — but it requires thoughtful planning and operational alignment. 

This article explores the key considerations for launching food offerings at a brewery, from choosing the right model (full kitchen, food truck, or third-party collaboration) to navigating local market conditions, staffing availability, and infrastructure requirements. Operators are encouraged to research local food trends, assess their target demographic, and align menu offerings accordingly, whether through a streamlined, pub-style menu or a trend-forward, shareable concept. 

The choice of service model — full service, counter service, or hybrid — should support both the brand experience and operational efficiency, with platforms like GoTab offering tools to streamline ordering, payment, and vendor coordination. The article also highlights the social benefits of food in creating a more communal taproom atmosphere, as well as the potential for added revenue through takeout, delivery, and packaged goods. 

Finally, we provide a checklist of technical and compliance factors to consider, such as equipment needs, zoning, permits, and tax planning. When executed well, a food program can elevate a brewery from a place to grab a pint to a memorable, all-inclusive destination.

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