KAIJU! Beer : Good things are brewing in Huntingdale

A new brewpub in Huntingdale has incorporated the industrial and classically post-war suburban feel of the suburb and given it a cool twist.

KAIJU! Cantina is the latest venture for brothers Nat and Callum Reeves, who launched onto the craft brewery scene with KAIJU! Beer in 2013. They have since won numerous awards. 

The Cantina opened in February in a converted warehouse in the industrial area of Hume Street.

Callum said he and Nat immediately saw the potential in the space and wanted to retain some of the industrial elements of the building in the colourful and fresh interior of the cantina.

“We love the post-war, triple-front aesthetic of the local area,” Callum said. “So, for the interior, we really leaned into the bent metal and blonde brickwork that features in that kind of architecture.

“The exterior is a really classic industrial stepped brick frontage from the 1960s, so we just gave it a lick of colourful paint.”

Callum said the location and space for the Cantina was as important as the high-quality, thin crust pizzas and KAIJU! Beer range served on-tap to punters.

“The demographics of Huntingdale were good for us, with proximity to public transport and Monash University and Monash Medical Centre nearby,” he said. “We thought we could do something really cool with the space.”

There are two large statement aloe plants out the front, nicknamed “Bob” and “Mel”, and Callum said they were a nod to the style of gardens featured in many of Huntingdale’s classic suburban homes, where there’s succulents and cacti that have grown to immense proportions.

And the Reeves Brothers’ instincts have paid off, even after the hiccups, delays and stressful times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since we opened we’ve been really busy, and Fridays and Saturdays have been booked out,” Callum said.

Not content to rest on their laurels after opening the cantina, KAIJU! Beer is currently working on an expansion of packaging systems at its main brewery site in Dandenong South, investing in new equipment and staff.

“There’s always going to be new projects on the horizon,” Callum said. “There’s always change in the brewery scene. It’s never stagnant.”

KAIJU! Cantina is located at 27 Hume Street, Huntingdale. 

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