Profile: Matt Casey of Akademia Brewing Co.
Despite challenges that Akademia Brewing Co. and owner Matt Casey have faced, two years after opening their doors they are partners with Target, Golden Pantry and Publix. Casey hopes to one day be a nationally distributed name in the brewing industry and just recently he has been in talks with Kroger about a large rollout of Akademia’s products.
Casey said, “Kroger is going to be our first big grocery partner, we are doing four beers with them which is big because usually it’s hard to get even one line of beer when it’s a small company like ours.”
Why it’s Newsworthy: Matt Casey turned an idea into a successful small brewpub with partnerships with stores like Kroger and Publix.
Akademia Brewing Co. is a brewpub in Athens, Georgia co-founded by Matt Casey. Casey, 47, was raised in Columbus, Georgia and attended the University of Georgia. Casey graduated from UGA in 1998 with a business degree from Terry College of Business.
Matt Casey poses for a picture during an interview on Nov. 19, 2019 at Akademia Brewing Co. Akademia is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia. (photo/John C. Shelton)
After graduation, Matt helped develop a software which is used in postal scanners and eventually became the distribution manager where he oversaw 26 distribution centers.
Matt Casey of Akademia Brewing Co.poses for a photo during an interview on Nov. 22, 2019. Akademia is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia. (photo/John C. Shelton)
Matt’s job dictated that he traveled, and over the course of 19 years he flew over 1 million miles. He visited countries like Israel, Germany, Czech Republic and Japan. Through his travels, Casey was able to experience many different cultures.
Matt Casey, owner of Akademia Brewing Co. makes a business call during an interview on Nov 18, 2019. Akademia Brewing Co. is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia.(photo/John C. Shelton
“My company would always send us out for nice dinners when we traveled,” Matt said, “I got a lot of ideas from those experiences.”
Something that stood out to Matt as he traveled was the way breweries were run and how they always had some sort of food to go with the beer.
Matt Casey of Akademia Brewing Co. takes a business call on Nov. 18, 2019. Akademia Brewing Co. is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia. (photo/John C. Shelton)
Casey said, “Beer is meant to compliment food, to pair with food, I always wanted to do a brewpub because that is the way beer should be experienced."
Akademia Brewing Co. is located at 150 Crane drive Athens, Georgia. Picture taken on Nov. 19, 2019. (photo/ John C. Shelton)
Back in 2015 when Matt was trying to develop his idea for a restaurant with a brewery aspect, he met Morgan Wireman, an experienced brewer from Oconee, Georgia. Wireman and Casey decided to form a partnership and open a brewpub.
Wireman would mostly handle the brewing side of things while Casey would handle the business aspects like dealing with property searches, banks and licenses.
Wireman said, “Matt sort of spear-headed the whole business side of it. He was the one who came up with the business plan and did the research. I helped with the brewing aspect, researching equipment and helped him with the distribution and retail side of it as well.”
Akademia Brewing Co.’s ‘Yesterday’s Eyes.' Italian pilsner poured on Nov. 18, 2019. Akademia Brewing Co. is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia.(photo/ John C. Shelton)
There were several issues that Casey had to navigate through. Finding a location was difficult, and, according to Wireman, the first six places that Casey tried to acquire fell through.
Casey’s persistence paid off as he eventually found a property on the west side of Athens, but his challenges continued. Brewing in Georgia is highly regulated and very challenging to navigate successfully for smaller businesses.
“The laws in Georgia have been extremely challenging,” Casey continued, “We should be allowed to self distribute, but instead we have to hire a distributor which is holding us hostage so to speak. In North Carolina, I would be able to buy a truck and pay a driver and once a week to have our product dropped off. Right now, every beer that goes to market the distributor gets 38 percent.”
Casey is encouraged by the interest by Kroger and feels that this is just the beginning and said that Akademia's beer is just as good, if not better, than other breweries in town like Southern or Creature Comforts.
Matt Casey of Akademia Brewing Co. sits for an interview on Nov 18. 2019. Akademia Brewing Co. is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia.
Matt Casey Jr., Casey’s son, who also happens to be lead chef at Akademia, has been around the company since it opened as well as when his father was just developing the idea of opening the brewpub.
Casey Jr. said, “My dad’s assertiveness throughout the whole startup process was great, even in the stuff that he was not 100% sure on you could tell he had done his research.”
Even after the initial success of Akademia, Casey’s goals are still evolving. He is looking forward to expansion in the near future.
Matt Casey’s homemade drink dispensers. Akademia Brewing Co. is located at 150 Crane drive in Athens, Georgia. (photo/ John C. Shelton)
Casey said, “We have been at max production capacity for the past 6 months so I need more tanks badly and that is the next step, we need to get about 4 more tanks and hopefully we can get that done in the next month or so.”
