Beerenberg in Hahndorf set for major tourism expansion
A hugely popular Hills’ tourist spot has plans for a $2.6m expansion, including a behind-the-scenes cafe and kitchen.
Adelaide Hills
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The state’s oldest strawberry farm is readying itself for a major overhaul that will see the Hahndorf-based business completely transformed.
Beerenberg Farm has announced plans for a $2.6 million expansion of its exisiting premises to include a cafe, a tasting room and more.
Work is expected to start in February and completed by September, creating close to 50 jobs in the process.
Marketing manager Sally Paech said the project would offer an experience unlike anything else in SA.
“What we’re proposing is a much bigger shop to showcase all of our products, a cafe where we’ll make our own strawberry ice cream, and a kitchen where we can hold cooking demonstrations and classes.
“This will allow us to show people how to use our products and even invite chefs in to run demonstrations.
“There will also be a separate and private tasting room so we can have experiences similar to what we ran during the recent Hahndorf event.”
Ms Paech said the expansion had been a long time coming and would help bring the family business into a new era.
Project plans show the refurbishment will take over the entire shed-like building, including the old production site, which has been sitting empty for a number of years.
“People are wanting an insider’s view of what happens so we are currently talking with the South Australian Tourism Commission to see what other projects we could include,” Ms Paech said.
“We find that people want to know what happens behind the scenes so we’ll start including them more in new product development by running exclusive sessions and jam-making classes.
“So it’s going to be a space where we can do anything and the sky’s the limit.”
Ms Paech said regular shop hours should not be affected by renovations.
“It’s been a long time coming and we were actually planning to open this month but then COVID happened and we pushed it all back by a year,” she said.
“We want to give people a really good farming experience when they come here but also offer kids a way to learn.
“We’ve also never been able to host big groups, so the new facility will allow us to do that.”
Kids under 12 go free as Beerenberg launches strawberry season
A difficult year has become a little sweeter with the launch of strawberry season.
Beerenberg has officially reopened its pick-your-own strawberry patches, with children under the age of 12 invited to enjoy the fun for free.
Ms Paech said visitors would have more than 340,000 plants to pick strawberries to pick from this year, with staff using the past few months to expand its undertaking by an additional 170,000 plants.
“We’re really excited that strawberry season is finally underway as many of us have been waiting for this all winter long,” she said.
“We look forward to welcoming people throughout the season, which will run until April, however we encourage people to check our website before heading out as we may have to shut the patches for various reasons.
“But other than that, come to the farm, pay your entry – which is $5 for those 13 years of age and above and free for kids 12 years and under.”
Ms Paech said visitors, this year, would also receive a recyclable box to pick strawberries as the company moves away from single-use plastic.
Beerenberg is open for picking every day until April between 9am and 4.15pm.
