Set on a working farm in Berry, NSW, The Berry Dairy isn’t your typical café. It’s a paddock-to-plate experience where families can pick strawberries, meet baby animals, explore open spaces and then sit down to enjoy food, desserts and drinks made with local produce, including the farm’s own berries and beef. It’s equal parts café, farm gate, playground and event space, and it has quickly become a destination families travel for.
Founded just three years ago by dairy farmer and mum Nicole Saunders, The Berry Dairy was born from a desire to diversify the family farm and create something special for the local community. With no prior hospitality experience, Nicole built the venue from the ground up, learning the ropes while running a working farm and raising a family.
To understand how The Berry Dairy has grown from a bold idea into a thriving agritourism hotspot, we spoke with Owner Nicole Saunders about the challenges of running a multi-experience venue and how Now Book It, including AI receptionist Sadie, has supported that journey.
“A little about me and The Berry Dairy… I’m a dairy farmer and mum who opened The Berry Dairy as a way to diversify our farm and create something special for the community, we started with no hospitality experience at all, so it’s been a huge learning curve, but incredibly rewarding to see it grow into a destination families travel for,” Nicole shared.
From day one, creating a welcoming space where people can slow down, connect and make memories has been at the heart of everything. But delivering that kind of relaxed experience behind the scenes takes structure, systems and smart technology.
Managing bookings for a venue that isn't 'just a cafe'
The Berry Dairy doesn’t fit neatly into a traditional hospitality model. It’s not simply a café with a single dining area and predictable turnover. Instead, the venue includes multiple seating zones, indoor spaces, outdoor areas and function spaces, all operating within the rhythm of a working farm.
“One of our biggest challenges has been managing bookings for a venue that is not a traditional café, we have multiple areas for guests to choose from, including indoor, outdoor and function spaces, so we needed a system that allowed customers to select where they wanted to sit while still being easy for staff to manage.”
On top of that, the business is highly seasonal and weather dependent. As an agritourism destination, visitor numbers fluctuate based on school holidays, strawberry seasons, baby animal arrivals and, of course, the weather. Hours sometimes need to change at short notice, areas may need to be blocked out and new experiences are introduced throughout the year.
“Because we operate on a working farm, weather plays a significant role in visitor numbers and experiences, we often need to adjust opening hours or availability at short notice, so flexibility is absolutely essential,” Nicole said.
Unlike many cafés that manage just dining reservations, The Berry Dairy also offers baby animal feeding sessions, petting zoo tours, seasonal activities and special events. Each experience has its own capacity, time slots and payment requirements. Managing these within one system without confusing guests or overwhelming staff was a major priority.
“As a new and rapidly growing business, we needed something that could handle multiple experiences, not just café bookings, trying to manage that manually would have been chaos.”
A flexible booking platform built for growth
From opening day, The Berry Dairy implemented Now Book It as its central reservation platform. For a team with no prior hospitality background, ease of use was critical.
“We chose Now Book It because it was easy to set up as complete newcomers to hospitality, the system is straightforward to manage, and that made a huge difference for us in those early days,”
Now Book It allows The Berry Dairy to create and manage multiple bookable areas within the one venue, giving guests the ability to choose their preferred space while maintaining backend control for the team. Indoor seating, outdoor tables and function areas can all be allocated with clarity, reducing double handling and confusion.
The platform’s flexibility also allows Nicole and her team to adjust opening hours, add block-out periods and update availability in real time. When weather conditions change or seasonal demand spikes, the system adapts.
Being able to accept bookings online 24/7 has also significantly improved conversion. Many guests discover The Berry Dairy via social media, decide to visit and want to book immediately.
“Many of our visitors see a social media post, decide to come and can immediately check availability and secure a booking while it’s fresh in their mind, that convenience has made a noticeable difference.”
Instead of waiting to call during business hours, guests can lock in their table instantly. That immediacy reduces friction and captures demand at the moment of intent. For a destination venue that attracts weekend visitors and families planning ahead, this has been critical in driving consistent bookings.
From an operational standpoint, online reservations have dramatically reduced manual administration. Staff are no longer tied up writing details down, returning missed calls or juggling paper booking sheets.
“Online reservations have been a huge time saver, they reduce the volume of phone calls and manual admin, which allows us to focus on running the venue and serving guests.”
Beyond bookings, the system has also helped build a valuable customer database. As the business grows, this database allows The Berry Dairy to stay connected with visitors, promote upcoming seasonal activities and share event announcements, supporting repeat visitation and long-term loyalty.
Constant phone enquiries in a hands-on, family-run business
While online bookings reduced some pressure, phone enquiries remained a constant interruption, particularly during peak periods. Questions about opening hours, availability, baby animal sessions or whether activities were running would come through all day long.
For a family-run venue where the owners are hands-on in day-to-day operations, constant phone interruptions created strain.
“Phone enquiries were a constant challenge, especially for simple questions about availability, opening hours or whether activities were running, when you’re busy on the floor or managing the farm, it can be really disruptive.”
Every time the phone rang, a staff member had to step away from in-venue guests. During busy weekends or school holidays, that meant juggling in-person service with incoming calls, impacting flow and focus.
As a destination built around experience and atmosphere, maintaining a relaxed, welcoming environment is essential. Constant phone interruptions work against that.
190+ calls handled hands-off: Sadie AI protects peak service
To address this challenge, The Berry Dairy introduced Now Book It’s AI receptionist, Sadie. And the impact was felt immediately.
“In one month alone, Sadie answered over 190 calls for us, It’s been welcome with open arms.”
Instead of calls ringing out or pulling staff off the floor, Sadie answers instantly. Guests can enquire about availability, confirm opening hours and secure bookings in real time, even outside standard business hours.
More importantly, these calls convert directly into confirmed reservations within the Now Book It system. There is no message taking, no need for follow-up and no risk of details being missed.
“Implementing Sadie has significantly reduced phone interruptions and allowed our team to focus on guests on site, that shift alone has changed how our days feel,”
If each call averages just three to four minutes, 190 calls represents more than 10 hours of staff time in a single month redirected back into guest experience and operational focus. Over a year, that compounds into substantial time savings for a small, hands-on team.
Sadie also ensures no opportunity is missed after hours. Families often plan weekend outings in the evening when kids are asleep and calendars come out, with Sadie, those enquiries are captured instantly.
“For a business like ours that’s growing quickly, being able to answer every call and capture those bookings, even after hours, is incredibly valuable,”
The result is fewer interruptions, stronger conversion and a smoother guest journey from first enquiry to arrival at the farm.
Events, experiences and pre-paid farm activities
The Berry Dairy doesn’t just use Now Book It for standard dining reservations. The platform supports a diverse range of experiences that reflect the venue’s unique agritourism model.
Guests can book baby animal bottle feeding sessions and petting zoo tours directly through the system, with full pre-payment taken at the time of booking. This secures revenue upfront and provides clarity around attendance numbers.
“Being able to manage unique experiences like baby animal feeding within the same system has been essential, taking full pre-payment at booking gives us confidence and makes planning so much easier.”
Seasonal events and special activities can also be created and promoted through the platform, with clear time slots and capacity controls. This ensures smooth scheduling without overbooking or manual spreadsheets.
By keeping dining, experiences and events within one connected ecosystem, The Berry Dairy avoids fragmentation. Staff operate from a single source of truth, and guests enjoy a seamless booking process.
“The fact that we can manage everything in one place, from café bookings to special experiences, keeps things simple for both our team and our customers,”
Growing a destination business with the right foundations
In just three years, The Berry Dairy has evolved from an ambitious farm diversification project into a thriving destination that blends agriculture, hospitality and community connection.
Behind the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere is a booking system designed to handle complexity, seasonality and growth. From flexible area management and 24/7 online bookings to AI-powered call handling and pre-paid experiences, Now Book It has supported the venue at every stage.
“Now Book It has played an important role in streamlining bookings, improving customer convenience and supporting the growth of our business from the very beginning, and adding Sadie has taken that to another level,” Nicole reflected.
For hospitality operators stepping into new territory, especially those without traditional industry backgrounds, having the right systems in place can make the difference between surviving and scaling.
Book a table at The Berry Dairy
Now Book It tip: Make sure you try one of their chocolate strawberry cups. They start with fresh strawberries, cover them in melted Lindt chocolate and then finish them with their famous real fruit ice cream swirled on top. It’s warm, cold, sweet and fresh all at once!
