Lake Bluff Honey Bee Farm, LLC
Farmer
About
N/A
Programs and Partners
Location
Wolcott, NY
Manager
José and Lia Berenguer (sons, Andrew and Ben)
For José, it all started in the Spring of 2014, when his wife Lia brought home a book about honeybees from the library. Wanting to do something besides woodwork in the summer, he began building hives and swapping for bees. By the end of the first season, they had 20 colonies. After the first harvest, he decided they should start selling honey at markets and chose Syracuse in 2015. Today, he and his wife nurture over 125 colonies of honeybees which produce various types of honey, depending on their forage and seasons. Their two youngest sons, Andrew and Benjamin work on the farm and help with loading the trucks and bottling all the honey to sell at the markets and wholesale accounts. They also help retail the honey.
A typical day at the market starts rather early as either Andrew or Lia goes with José to the Syracuse market. Up by 1:30 am, they drive an hour and set up the large stand, many customers begin shopping around 6! They have 3-4 employees that arrive early to help set up and sell all the produce and honey brought in by 2 trucks to the market. Returning home, they finish the day with lunch and a nice glass of Merlot, followed by a peaceful nap.
The Rochester Public Market also begins early, by 6:30 am, setting up on Saturdays and selling only honey and related goods to the many wonderful people in the city. The day is over by 2 pm when they close and go home.
"We love our customers, it's so much more than a place to make money", José loves to share. On top of offering high-quality products at a great price, they also place sincere value on ensuring every customer feels like they are the priority. "We want you to enjoy coming here, and we want you to come back", is what Lia stresses. Around 90% of their customers are repeats which shows their commitment to developing long-lasting relationships with their clientele.