Wilk Apiary

Wilk Apiary has been beekeeping in Queens County, NY since 2012, earning the distinction of being the first NYC beekeepers to receive the 'New York State Grown and Certified' designation from the NY State Department of Agriculture. The family-run business operates multiple apiaries in Queens and other counties across New York State, maintaining a total of 49 honeybee hives.

The apiary bottles honey directly from their own hives, labeling each bottle with the month of harvest and hive location. They also offer a special blend called Queens Blossoms, which combines harvests from different seasons and sites within Queens County. The head beekeeper, certified as a Master Beekeeper by Cornell University, emphasizes education by visiting schools with an observation hive to teach students about honey bees.

In addition to selling their own honey, the apiary supplements their stock by purchasing honey from commercial beekeeping friends. This helps defray the costs associated with maintaining honeybee colonies and running a business in New York City. The head beekeeper also engages in community outreach, bringing live honeybees to schools to educate children from grades K-12.