Sweet nothings in the Heights: Honey Hub opens on Hastings St.

It’s the product of impulse, innovation, and… bees.

Visitors to the Heights this week will have noticed a new storefront on Hastings Street dedicated to all things honey: Burnaby, meet Honey Hub on the Heights.

While the shop is brand new, it’s got strong ties to Burnaby Heights. It’s the brainchild of Winston Wong and Ninna Snider, who co-own the iconic Muckabout Gift Gallery and BC Bee Supply—just a few doors down Hastings from the new venture.

And the idea came about very, very recently.

“Where this little gem of an idea came along was—about 10 days ago, we were offered another space right in the thick of the Heights,” Wong told the Beacon.

“10 days ago. [The space] was made available to us, and we took a day to think about it and think—you know, is there any reason for us to chance this. But it was either before Christmas or not ever. So we jumped at the chance.”

Wong and Snider immediately started work on the new space, ordering shelves and inventory, and opened their doors just a few days later in time for the gifting season.

“So we’ve got a very unique selection of Canadian honeys—all raw, all natural, some of them infused with different flavors, but most of it just raw unpasteurized honey,” he said.

“Along with a number of bee-themed gift ideas, including beeswax candles, some edible products that use honey, and also some bee-looking items, if that makes sense.”

What are “bee-looking items,” you might ask? Anything shaped like a bee, from candles to bowl covers.

Wong has some suggestions for gifts that everyone on your list will love, too—the store sells gift baskets with different varieties of honey that you can easily add a candle into. Others might prefer to be gifted a coffee or tea perfectly paired with a specific honey.

While Wong’s all-time favourite honey is a simple, pure unpasteurized honey perfect for hot water and lemon, he’s currently fixated on a creamy, spreadable honey from the Kootenays that’s been infused with cinnamon—perfect on toast or even by the spoon.

This is the third business Wong and Snider have opened together, all in the Heights—and he thinks they’re the perfect fit. Nestled in between Caffe Artigiano and the Legion, Honey Hub makes a sweet-smelling—and feeling—addition to Hastings Street.

“We’re not trying to revitalize the whole area, but I think we add to the local flavor. And with honey that comes from local sources. If the mood of the people is to shop locally, we fit right in.”

Right now, the pair is focused on making it past Christmas before taking some time to breathe and plan for 2023. But Wong said they intend to be a permanent fixture in the neighbourhood.

He said there are already some partnerships with other businesses in the Heights coming down the pipeline—you can expect to see collaborations with local chocolatiers and ice creameries in the coming weeks and months.

And one partnership has already lifted off, just days after Honey Hub opened its doors.

The store has collaborated with nearby Greek staple, Socrates in the Heights, for a special edition baklava.

If you visit Honey Hub this coming weekend, you can sample some of that baklava in-store—no purchase necessary.

Honey Hub on the Heights is located at 4347 Hastings St.