Queen and Colony Bee Company opened their first store in downtown St. Petersburg

Queen and Colony Bee Company is based in St. Petersburg and has bee hives all around Tampa Bay.

They specialize in local, raw honey and beekeeper education.

For years, you’ve been able to find Queen and Colony honey on retail shelves throughout the area. But they’ve recently opened the first store of their own.

"To be able to meet our customers in person is a great thing that we’re very excited about," said owner, Josh Harris.

Josh and his wife, Rebekah, started with one bee colony in their backyard and now have about 200 of them.

"It takes a lot of work and a lot of continued education to learn how to care for the bees and keep them healthy and alive, so they can do what they do best, which is pollinate our plants," said Josh.

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Queen and Colony has three different honeys available: wildflower, orange blossom, and mangrove.

"Mangrove trees are so important because they clean the water of Tampa Bay. Our bees are pollinating the trees, getting a great nectar, and we get a great honey out of it. Everybody wins," explained Josh.

Queen and Colony is a family affair for Josh, Rebekah, and their seven children.

"I think it’s really important for kids to see where their source of food comes from. We never have a lack of honey in our home, we put it on everything," shared Rebekah.

Customers can visit Queen and Colony in person at 326 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. North in downtown St. Petersburg. For more information, click here.

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