Rendering of the new Bee Friends Farm retail space.

The 800 square foot storefront next to Community Loaves at 1118 Edgewood Ave in Murray Hill will soon get a sweet new life. It will be the first brick and mortar shop for Jacksonville honey company Bee Friends Farm.

Founded in 2013, Bee Friends Farm maintains nearly 600 hives located in apiaries, or beekeeping farms, all over North Florida. From a home base at Interstate 10 and Lane Avenue, the company rotates between its apiaries, allowing it to harvest a wide variety of honeys. Founder Michael Leach is a Murray Hill native and third generation beekeeper. “Expanding Bee Friends Farm into Murray Hill, in the same neighborhood I grew up in, is an incredible feeling,” he said in a press release

Founder and beekeeper Michael Leach.

The company started out selling at local markets and events, including its own annual Honey Bee Festival. “From hosting our annual Honey Bee Festival to hands-on Beekeeping Experiences to new product launches, Jacksonville has always shown up to support us,” said Marketing Director Brentley Stead in the press release. “That support has been key to making the brick and mortar a possibility.”

The store will sell Bee Friends’ full line, including specialty, creamed, and liquid honeys, as well as other products like hand poured beeswax candles. It will also purvey something you can’t find elsewhere in Jacksonville: beekeeping equipment. “We see how many budding backyard beekeepers there are in Jacksonville, but there isn’t a spot in Duval to purchase beekeeping equipment,” said Stead. “We want to change that. We are excited to support our current, and up and coming, backyard beekeepers with the basics and watch them thrive.”

Bee Friends Farm plans to announce a grand opening for its shop in the near future. For more information, visit the Bee Friends Farm website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Article by Bill Delaney. Contact Bill at wdelaney@moderncities.com.