If you had asked me in 2019 what I would be doing in 2022, I would never have predicted that I would own a store dedicated to bees and honey!
Most of my career was spent as a field executive for designer cosmetic and fragrance brands. In 2006, when I had had enough of travel, moving around the country, crazy bosses, and corporate life, I opened a designer consignment boutique called Diva in Old Town Alexandria, VA, where I lived at that time. I loved the freedom of being a sole proprieter; it gave me the opportunity to create a business where I could use my creativity and share my love for fashion.
I moved to Naples from Alexandria in 2019 to spend more time with my mom, who lived in Bonita, after my dad passed. I wanted to open a business here, but because the consignment market in Naples was oversaturated, I decided not to do a “Diva South.” I wanted the business I opened to be unique. Actually, it was Covid that put me on the right track!
I have felt a connection to honeybees since I was a child. The tremendous impact they have on our lives is so significant that without them, we as a world could not survive. During the Covid shutdown, I took the opportunity to learn as much as I could about these fascinating, incredible animals. The more I learned, the more impressed and intrigued I became, not only in bees, but in honey as well. I delved even deeper into my “bee-search” and spent time at The Savannah Bee Company, which was an invaluable and inspiring experience. I took courses at the Bee College at UF, and a honey tasting course taught by the founder of the American Honey Tasting Society.
I was now hooked, and business ideas began to grow. I was sure that there had to be a way to incorporate my passion for all things bee and honey in a retail setting. I wanted to introduce others to this world which had captivated me, and to facilitate the experience of discovering the goodness of pure, raw honey. I recalled wine tastings I had attended and had loved the sensory experience. Why couldn’t bee knowledge and honey be blended together and experienced in the same way? The concept of Grand Central Honey was born–it would be experiential, interactional, and most of all, fun!
Opening a honey emporium was a labor of love for me. Everything bee, everything honey. In addition to a curated collection of well-vetted, raw artisan honeys originating from local, national and world sources, we also carry a wide variety of cool bee-inspired gifts, books, skincare, jewelry, and much, much more. It really is an experience like no other!
