High steaks: Warrnambool business has regular fly-in fly out customer

Point Lonsdale's Paul Rushton, who has a pilot's licence, regularly makes a plane trip to the city to stock up on steak from Lucas Brothers Butchers.

He said he was impressed with the quality of the products at the business, which is run by Peter Harris.

"I often fly my plane from Barwon Heads airport specifically to buy meat from Lucas Butchers," Mr Rushton said.

"I usually purchase their eye fillet steak which is off the scale good. I also buy an assortment of their in-house made sausages."

"Peter told me sometime ago that they mostly rear and slaughter their own animals, which makes a huge difference to the quality of their meat."

Mr Rushton said he didn't mind travelling for top-quality products.

"King Island meat is regarded as some of the best meat on the planet and I also often fly there to buy my meat but the quality of the meat from Lucas Butchers is on par with King Island," he said.

However, he admitted the regular trips weren't cheap.

"By the time I pay for the aviation fuel and landing fees to fly there it makes for an expensive steak - but well worth it," Mr Rushton said.

The stroke of luck for the business, which Mr Harris took over 11 years ago, came when Mr Rushton flew to the city for a day out on a Sunday.

"He found out we were open on a Sunday, came into the shop, loved it and he's been coming back regularly ever since," Mr Harris said.

The next time he scheduled a trip to the city to stock up on steak he let the team at the shop know how much he loved the products.

"He usually comes down about once a month and he loads up with plenty of steak when he does," Mr Harris said.

He said he was thrilled the butcher's dedication to customer service and quality products was paying off.

"To have a customer who is flying in regularly to buy our steak, that means a lot," Mr Harris said.

One thing Mr Harris said Mr Rushton probably doesn't know is that the butcher's own brand of steak - Tower Hill Beef - actually comes straight from a paddock in Yangery - about 500 metres from the Warrnambool airport.

"If only Paul knew how close the meat is to the airport," Mr Harris laughed.

The butcher has about 20 staff members and the drive-thru has proved popular with customers, Mr Harris said.

Its Tower Hill Beef is one of its best-sellers, along with its Texan Chilli Beef sausage - which took out the Australian title for best gourmet sausage in 2023.