Rockpool Dining Group will be opening the long-awaited Munich Brauhaus in Brisbane’s growing South Bank precinct on Friday 4 May as part of it’s five-year expansion plan.
The plans for Munich Brauhaus Brisbane were first announced in mid-2016 by the group, then known as Urban Purveyor Group. Located in the renovated, heritage-listed Allgas Building on Stanley Street Plaza, the Bavarian bier hall runs over two stories, with a 900-seat capacity, a 250-seat beer garden, two bars and 36 beer taps. The venue will open with an Oktoberfest-themed party, starting with a street parade at 5pm, followed by a traditional keg tap to officially open the pub.
Munich Brauhaus will have 17 beers on tap, including traditional Bavarian beers by Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Franziskaner, Paulaner, Spaten and Steigl. The venue will also stock its own range of craft beers from Urban Brewing Co., the craft beer subsidiary wholly owned by Rockpool Dining Group. The range includes Munich Lager and Butcher’s Bride Pale Ale, as well as a range of higher-ABV beeers including an Imperial Pilsner and a Red Bock.
Urban Craft Brewing Co. is shipping in 250 kegs of Bavarian beer for the launch, all adhering to the ancient German Purity Law, Reinheitsgebot, meaning the beers can only contain four ingredients: water, hops, malt and yeast.
“We believe this is the largest single shipment of Bavarian biers into Queensland for a single venue,” said Rockpool Dining Group CEO, Thomas Pash.
“We want to give our guests the ultimate Bavarian experience, which means providing the largest range of biers from some of Bavaria’s oldest and most highly-regarded breweries, including traditional wheat biers, lagers, pilsners and dunkels.”
Munich Brauhaus Brisbane is the third Brauhaus venue, for the group, joining the Melbourne and Sydney sites.
Group growth
The addition of the latest Munich Brauhaus is just one small step in the continued growth of the substantial Rockpool Dining Group. It announced earlier this week that it is expecting 30 per cent top-line and EBITDA growth this financial year, and is on track to meet its five-year goal to be Australia’s first $1 billion dining group by the end of FY 20/21.
The hospitality group expects sales in the range of $300 million to $330 million and an EBITDA range of $35 million to $40 million in FY 17/18.
Rockpool Dining Group has signed more than 15 new leases in the past three months, with the expectation to open 15-20 venues annually. The following venues are set to open shortly:
- The Bavarian – Rouse Hill, NSW (May 2018)
- Burger Project Black Label – CBD, NSW (May 2018)
- The Bavarian – Toowoomba, QLD (June 2018)
- Fratelli Fresh – Darling Harbour, NSW (June 2018)
- The Bavarian – Castle Towers, NSW (June 2018)
- The Bavarian BEERHAUS – Fortitude Valley, QLD (June 2018)
- The Bavarian – Southland, VIC (July 2018)
- The Bavarian – Bondi Junction, NSW (August 2018)
- Saké Restaurant & Bar – Manly Pier, NSW (August 2018)
- Fratelli Fresh – Manly Pier, NSW (August 2018)
“We’ve never been in better shape as a business,” Pash said. “Our size has led to improved economies of scale, operational leverage, efficiencies and excellence, and to substantial margin improvement.”
Neil Perry, culinary and brands director for the group, was pleased with the group’s momentum in the last 12 months.
“We really hit our stride as a group in mid-2017 and I am bullish about 2018 and beyond. Tom and I have built a comprehensive network plan for our core, high growth and strategic brands that supports continuous expansion, so we are very much here for the long term and looking forward to exciting times ahead.”
Rockpool Dining Group is also scouting international sites for venues, including Los Angeles, Singapore and Shanghai.