Carmel, CA. (July 21, 2017) — Members of the Reisdorf family of Carmel are industrious as a colony of honey bees these days as they prepare to open Carmel Honey Company’s first brick-and-mortar store at the Carmel Plaza in downtown Carmel. Carmel Honey Company was founded by Jake Reisdorf, now 14, as a school project that took off. He not only founded the company, but is a passionate advocate for saving bee populations. He is a knowledgeable speaker who regularly gives talks, demonstrations and workshops to schools, civic groups, companies and nonprofits on the importance of bees. “We’re super excited to be in the Plaza, it’s a great location. They’re remodeling the whole courtyard, it’s becoming a foodie paradise.” says Jake Reisdorf, the leader of this honey-passionate family, about the store which is on the lower level of the Plaza. Dad Jeff is a general contractor and he’ll be responsible for the build-out of the space, mom Becky will be the contact for day to day operations, while sister Brooke, 11, will take on window and store display and will also assist in choosing the various hive related products.
The Carmel Honey Company store will be an upscale honey store, stocked with honey and hive-related merchandise, including apparel, unique gifts, bath & body items and specialty edibles.
And of course, Jake is still a student, so there is an educational component to the store. Since most people haven’t tasted real, raw, premium honey guests will be able to sample honeys from all over the country, discover beekeeping practices from around the world, and learn about the importance of pollinators to the eco system and the human race. Jake and his family plan to travel and bring the best honey in world back to Carmel By-the-Sea. They already have a sample program from the East Coast ready and will be traveling to Istanbul this fall.
“There are a lot of different kinds of honey with different flavor profiles,” says Jake. “In Europe, for example, the honey is more savory than here. It’s fun to see people’s faces light up when they taste the quality of my honey and it’s cool to answer questions about honey bees. Some of the kids actually ask some tough ones.” So why did the family decide to open a brick-and-mortar store for their honey products? “It was from overwhelming demand,” says Jake. “People kept asking us where our store was located. They wanted to learn more about bees and sample our honey. We feel lucky to be in this location.” The Reisdorfs say this store goes along with Jake’s original slogan he came up with when he was just 11 years old. “His slogan was ‘Carmel Honey Company, Bringing You the Best Honey in the World,’ ” says Becky. “And it’s actually coming true. It’s quite exciting.”
Carmel Honey Company store
Carmel Plaza, Suite 118,
Ocean Avenue & Mission Street
Carmel, CA 93921
Phone: 831.687.8511
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 11am to 5pm
www.CarmelHoneyCompany.com
About Jake and Carmel Honey Company:
Jake Reisdorf is the chief beekeeper and owner of Carmel Honey Company. He started his business as part of a school project where his teacher assigned professions to each student and directed them to research the profession and build a presentation on it. While researching his assigned profession of website designer, Jake, 11 years old at the time, decided to take it one step further and actually create a real website. At that time, Jake had taken one beekeeping class with his Dad and thought it would be cool to design a website about honey bees. Not only did Jake get an “A” on the project, it inspired him and spurred him to start Carmel Honey Company. That was three years ago. His passion for honey bees grew as he learned about Colony Collapse Disorder and real honey. Expanding his research and education drove Jake to learn more about honey and bees and ultimately decide it was critical to give back. The “Jake Gives Back” program includes sharing honey bee knowledge with kids and adults of all ages. Whether he is in a classroom speaking to first-grade students, or at a corporate event talking with business owners and seasoned professionals, his passion and appreciation of how honey bees impact our world is infectious. He also “gives back” by making a financial donation to honey bee research and education organizations.
