the Honey house located at 33-22 23rd Ave. Photo: The Honey House
Oct. 16, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
Astoria’s Honey House, a popular bee and honey store, is set to host its first-ever pop-up bazaar this weekend, giving local residents a chance to shop from a curated selection of up-and-coming vendors and enjoy seasonal treats.
Honey House, located at 33-22 23rd Ave., will host its “Fall Buzzaar” from 12-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20, bringing a taste of upstate New York to Astoria for the weekend.
The store, operated by Nick Hoefly and his wife Ashley, will operate a donut stand for the occasion, offering apple cider donuts from Long Island’s Jericho Cider Mill in addition to coffee and hot apple cider. Other vendors will sell a range of hand-crafted products, from candles and beeswax to gluten-free desserts.
Hoefly said he wanted to create a “mini fall festival” at the store and said he has encouraged other vendors to bring a fall vibe to their stands.
“We wanted to bring just a little taste of going upstate and going apple picking or going to a farm where you can get your donuts,” Hoefly said. “We’re doing a little mini version of that here. So instead of apples, you can come and pick some honey.”
A total of 11 up-and-coming vendors will be taking part in the two-day pop-up, with one set of six vendors operating on Saturday and the remaining vendors operating on Sunday.
Participating vendors include Sweet Tones, a gluten-free dessert maker that will be providing gluten-free donuts for the occasion, Sweet Patrice, offering a selection of baked goods and chocolate, and local candlemaker Wicked Candles. Other vendors will be selling a variety of products, including beeswax lip balm, lotions and soaps, and arts and crafts.
Inside the Honey House. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Hoefly, who spent years operating at pop-ups before acquiring a brick-and-mortar location last year, said it was rewarding to be able to offer up-and-coming vendors a space to sell their products.
“We were a local maker for a long time, and we would do craft fairs like farmers markets and festivals at Queens Botanical Garden,” Hoefly said. “Now that we have our own space, it seemed like a nice way to help out people who are just a little bit back in the process from where we are.”
Hoefly added that he hopes the pop-up will attract new customers to the Honey House and promote the business among the local community.
“We’re still the only honey shop out here (in New York City), so we haven’t had to compete against other stores,” Hoefly said. “But still, we’re very small, and there’s a lot of people, even here in this neighborhood, who don’t necessarily know we’re here.
“We’re hoping that doing these types of events, even if people come in and just have a look, that we’re getting people in the door and they know us. Then they can bookmark us for the next time they need a special gift or something unique in New York or Astoria.”
Hoefly said he plans to run similar bazaars in winter and spring if the inaugural fall bazaar proves popular with local residents.
The Honey House opens from 12-7 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday and remains closed on Mondays.
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