A Week of Many Goodbyes

Hello, Everyone. This week is bittersweet; we have had to say goodbye to Miss Anita, our special workers' team leader, Fred and Grace, the Phillippi Creek Farm House market managers, which wrapped up for the season, and our honey store and its beautiful garden. We want to take a moment to express our profound gratitude for their invaluable contributions to our journey. 

Saturday, April 27, will be our last day at our store on University Parkway.

Our honey will still be available at the following

farmers markets: Downtown Sarasota and Venice on Saturdays, Waterside in Lakewood Ranch and Wellen Park on Sundays, Dearborn in Englewood on Thursdays. Soon the stores that carry our products will be restocked. We had to put honey production, shipping, and deliveries on hold to focus on the move and the bees. We hope to fully stock all our retail stores by the end of the first week of May.

We also had to say goodbye to our garden. However, we are pleased that most plants and flowers have found a new home in a pollinator-friendly garden. We look forward to pictures of our beautiful flowers at their new home, where other bees can enjoy them.  

Although saying goodbye to the store on University Parkway and the garden was hard, we look forward to the future. We hope to open at The Bazaar on Apricot and Lime by Friday, May 3. The address is 821 Apricot Ave, Sarasota, FL 34237. The Bazaar is an indoor indie market with over 40 local creators and curators. They host a variety of fun events, one of which will be our official grand opening and celebration of World Bee Day! More details will be in next week's newsletter.

Goodbye and Well Wishes to Miss Anita. Miss Anita retired this month and moved out of state to her new home. She was not just a team member but a pillar of our organization. Her role as a talented artist, instructor, and mentor to our special workers was invaluable. We were very blessed to have her on our team and enjoyed her warm personality, dedication, and love toward the special needs community, honeybees, and Mother Nature.

We know she is where she is meant to bee. Her home sold in two days and a few days later she found and bought her dream house! We are still in shock how fast everything fell into place for her and her family! Sending many blessings and well wishes on her new adventure.

Goodbye and Well Wishes to Fred and Grace, the Volunteer Market Managers of Phillippi Farmhouse Market. Fred and Grace oversaw the Wednesday Farmers Market at the Phillippi Estate Park for many years. They plan on retiring after this season, which concluded last Wednesday. 

We shared a memorable retirement party, at which they were honored with various gifts, one of which was a bench under a tree dedicated to their contribution to the market and Sarasota Parks and Recreation. Their dedication and hard work have been instrumental in the market's success. Phillippi Farmhouse Market, which holds a special part of our heart, was the first farmers market to accept Sarasota Honey Company as a vendor.

We consider Sarasota Honey Company a Phillippi Creek success story. Many stores and markets did not understand how Sarasota Honey Company was different from others selling honey. Getting our company out of "concept" mode was very difficult. It was Fred and Grace who welcomed us with open arms and helped get Sarasota Honey Company on the map. Our growth in the market gave us the confidence to open our first brick-and-mortar and move to a larger brick-and-mortar. We have gone from being the little honey company that had the most challenging time getting into stores to being represented at most of the Suncoast farmer's markets, selective of who carries our product, and outgrowing the brick-and-mortar business model! We will be forever grateful for Fred and Grace's role in our sweet success story.