Reformation Brewery’s co-founders — former pastor Spencer Nix and Delta Air Lines pilot Nick Downs — first bonded over their shared love of European-style beers. Their talk soon turned into action as they dabbled in homebrewing, and eventually they took the leap and opened Reformation Brewery’s first brick-and-mortar taproom in 2013.
Since then, Reformation Brewery has expanded to three North Georgia locations, each serving the brand’s signature brews in community-centric spaces that channel the vibe of the founding duo’s original homebrewing parties, complete with experiential events like silent disco and karaoke.
“I think that’s something that holds true 13 years later for us, where we like to say it’s a lot more than what’s in your glass,” said Ryan Stockton, Reformation Brewery’s COO.
To support that vision, and scale it, the Reformation Brewery team turned to Square. Square POS for breweries successfully helped Reformation Brewery build customer loyalty, streamline business operations, and implement data-driven decisions in a high-volume brewery with three locations — and a fourth slated to open in 2027.
The challenge: Scaling a high-volume brewery across locations
When Reformation Brewery first opened, the business was a stand-alone tour and tasting operation. But after Georgia passed a law in 2017 that allowed on-premise brewery sales, the business model transformed into a full-scale bar.
“We were finally able to start serving direct pints to the consumer, so we became more of an actual bar concept than just selling one thing when you walked in, which was six-ounce samples of beer,” explained Stockton.
However, the new direct-to-consumer model introduced new business challenges. The brewery needed the right tools to keep the high-traffic operation flowing smoothly for customers while scaling up beer production and managing inventory and pricing for the Kennesaw taproom.
Cracking that formula for Reformation’s first taproom is one thing, but, with an eye towards growth, they needed business tools that could standardize their prices and processes across multiple locations. Those standards would need to be accessed by different management teams and their staff, while still being customizable to include unique offerings for that local clientele.
So if Music Bingo is a hit at one location but folks prefer Poker Night at another, the team needs to segment customer data by location and tailor events (and drink specials) accordingly.
Reformation Brewery needed an integrated POS system designed for high-volume breweries — one that combined speed, reliability, and actionable insights.
The solution: Using a brewery POS with integrated loyalty and marketing tools
Reformation Brewery chose Square to manage this critical business transition. Stockton says the point-of-sale interface not only looks sleek and professional but also creates a frictionless experience for customers. “The quicker that somebody can interact with a POS system, the quicker somebody’s getting a drink in their hand and less annoyed that they’re standing in line,” he explains.
That positive first impression is the foundation of Reformation’s customer-first ethos — and Square has been integral in helping them build community spaces with a loyal local following.
“We’ve built these businesses in Main Street America to kind of be a third spot for the communities, and very event-centric, and that’s what makes our business a little bit more unique,” explained Stockton. “Some people do like to go to the same restaurant every single day, but at a certain point, you’re going to kind of get tired of the cuisine. So switching that up within one space and creating zones and different experiences, I think, is what’s been a big part of our loyalty program.”
Stockton and his team use Square Dashboard to identify bestselling items and popular events across all three taprooms so they can plan future programs that appeal to regulars while attracting new customers. Instead of guessing what will resonate, the team uses real-time reporting to guide decisions across locations.
“One day you could be watching a football game at the brewery and the next day you could be listening to your favorite local musician, and I think rotating through all those events and getting something different for people to enjoy is what inspires loyalty,” said Stockton.
Stockton also relies on Square to identify the trends that will resonate with his regular customer base (spoiler alert: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was a big hit).
In 2024, the Woodstock location hosted a birthday party for the musician, complete with a look-alike contest, live DJ, friendship bracelet-making station, an alcoholic “birthday cake” slushie, and non-alcoholic drinks for young fans. Square data was critical for identifying and marketing the party to customers who had attended previous Taylor Swift-themed events, and encouraging them to bring friends along, building an even stronger network of loyal customers.
In addition to themed events, the team builds loyalty and repeat business through savvy, targeted marketing using insights from Square.
Last December, the brewery added a previously popular holiday cocktail, the coquito, to its menu. “It’s a festive holiday coconut drink…and we used the customer data to remind people who had purchased it in previous years that we were doing another drop of it,” says Stockton. “We use Square reports and Square data to make sure we keep those communities in tune with what’s going on with us.”
The impact: Data-driven growth across multiple taprooms
Using Square’s data-driven platform, Reformation Brewery scaled from a single site-tasting experience to a thriving trio of North Georgia taprooms.
Square has added on tools that [have] definitely helped us grow in certain metrics, like the marketing tie-in. So implementing that and being able to look a little bit closer at the customer data and figure out what people want, that’s definitely helped us grow.”
Ryan Stockton → COO, Reformation Brewery
That Taylor Swift event, where they encouraged customers who were fans to bring a friend? Stockton says attendees were 2:1 returning customers to new customers. A successful marketing campaign like that isn’t guesswork; it’s hard data deployed well.
With technology that keeps the operation running smoothly on the front end, and back-end data that helps the brewery manage events, inventory, and pricing, Reformation Brewery can ensure consistency and maximize profits across multiple locations. “We can always have that data at our fingertips so we can make more informed decisions come the next year,” he said.
In 2027, Reformation Brewery will open its fourth location, a new taproom in downtown Kennesaw, and the team will continue to leverage Square as it expands. With an intuitive POS for seamless ordering, a loyalty program to reward regulars, marketing tools to drive awareness, and a dashboard that unifies it all, they’re ready for what’s next.
