Local Good Friends - Meet Copper and Oak
BACK TO FUN STUFFA series where we explore our #localgoodfriends around us and highlighting their stories, places and spaces.
Meet Copper and Oak Liquor Merchants, founded and independently owned by two brother’s Jose and Nelio Pestana. At two decades old and counting, Copper & Oak is an institution when it comes to craft beer, wine and spirits, but its evolution shows how independent and family-run businesses can continue to thrive. There are two stores, one located in Tuart Hill and the other in Guildford.
The thoughtfully-curated beer selection is put together so everything sits in a well-considered place. It makes a visit to Copper & Oak to buy beer feel more like time spent in a family-run bookshop than a standard bottle shop.
Eagle Bay have proudly been supported and stocked by Copper and Oak since 2014 and we have been getting together annually since 2022 for the creation of Oaked Vienna Lager.
We caught up with Jose and Nelio to take a peek behind the scenes and get to know Copper and Oak a little bit more.
“We’re from Copper & Oak. I’m Jose Pestana and I run the Copper & Oak in Tuart Hill.”
“My name’s Nelio Pestana. I’m Jose’s younger brother and I run Copper & Oak in Guildford.”
How did Copper and Oak Liquor Merchants come about and what do you do ?
Jose says “Copper & Oak came about because I’ve been in retail, and especially the liquor retail game now, for over 30 years. I originally started in South Africa and then immigrated here and we needed a business name that people could actually relate to. We’ve always embraced what was new, but we always made sure that people didn’t forget the old, if it was a wine or a beer or a whiskey and that’s where Copper & Oak was born. It’s just a good meeting place, and my first job is to welcome people and everything else is pretty much secondary”
Nelio says “Jose bought the Tuart Hill store twenty years ago actually, and then we bought Guildford in 2022. We love everything in the game, from beer to wine to spirits. Copper being distilling, oak barrelling being for wines and beers, and we just felt two married perfectly together.”
Jose says “The hero moment is when the person someone is buying for actually comes in and goes, “Man, you guys really nailed that. They’re really grateful for that extra bit of effort that was put in,” and I think that’s what we do.”
Share a favourite moment with us
“ I’d probably say the day that we branded to Copper & Oak, it’s still ingrained in our memories. It was a special moment. For me and my brother, it probably just connected us a little bit more you know. It’s the first thing we did together, and from there, we just kept building, and it’s been a good journey.” says Nelio
Share with us some favourite things or memories about Eagle Bay ?
Jose says “ I always talk to customers about Eagle Bay like it is. It’s a farm and a farm is always people and their families”
“I think it’s the people in Eagle Bay that we connected with first. Obviously meeting Edge in the beginning, but Keegan (our Head Brewer) sort of really brought that in when we went down for the Oaked Vienna Lager brew day and that just really connected us with the brand a little bit more.
Jose’s favourite beer by Eagle Bay “I mean, the ultimate favourite for us is the Oaked Vienna Lager. Also to sum it up, it’s pretty much all their beers really. Each of their beers has a moment. Yeah, it’s all of them.”
Nelio says “Come on. Of course it’s going to be Oaked Vienna Lager. From the core range, it’s probably Kolsch every day of the week. Absolutely, I just love that beer. Just enough happening, but it’s just so clean.”
You can find Oaked Vienna Lager at Copper and Oak in-store or online
Also at Eagle Bay Brewing Co in-store.
Have fun out there
