Gil’s Honeybees Offers Natural Honey

By David Durrett – a current intern at GreenStar Food Co+op, David Durrett is a lifelong resident of Ithaca as well as a graduate of Ithaca College. He is a freelance reporter whose work has also appeared in Tompkins Weekly and The Ithaca Voice, among other publications. 

Gil Menda, the owner of Gil’s Honeybees, offers customers locally sourced and natural honey.

Gil is a third-generation beekeeper who came to Ithaca to study at Cornell. He started his business in Ithaca in 2015 while pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience. In 2020 Gil left his research associate position at Cornell to work full-time on his beekeeping business.

Gil’s honey is produced 100 percent raw, meaning that the honey is never heated or pressure filtered, nor does he use chemicals that are harmful to the bees. Raw honey preserves the aroma, flavor, and texture of the honey.

“When you buy local raw honey, you can know that the honeybees made it from flowers in our region, and the honey is as natural as can be”, Gil said.

The honey Gil sells is extracted several times during the spring, summer, and fall, separated by flower varieties based on the season and location. These honey varieties differ in terms of color and taste, and while the darker varieties tend to have a stronger flavor and higher levels of antioxidants, Gil says different people have very different preferences.

“Some people prefer milder honey with a lighter color, while others prefer darker honey with full and bold flavor,”Gil said.

Gil has sold his honey to GreenStar since around the time his business first got started, starting out selling two types of honey and expanding to five. He describes GreenStar as highly communicative, and appreciates the feedback he gets from them and his customers, who enjoy the different kinds of varieties he offers.

“When I sell to GreenStar, it feels like a very close community shop that they connect between a lot of people, so I love selling at GreenStar,” Gil said.

Gil shops at GreenStar once or twice a week, and buys many products, such as organic meat, produce from local farms, and bulk products. He said GreenStar’s products have a unique flavor that is superior to products sold at other establishments.

“We love GreenStar, we buy there ourselves, a lot of our groceries, and we really like to work with them, we like their approach to supporting local business and local farms.”

The honey Gil produces is also sold in other retail outlets, such as, Ithaca Bakery, and Trumansburg Main Street Market, among others. He also sells his honey online at http://www.gilshoneybees.com/.

Gil’s business consists of himself and his wife, but their children often help out during the busy periods in the spring and during the holidays.

Gil said being a beekeeper makes him feel connected to nature. His job not only requires him to work outside, but forces him to be aware of his environment in order to take the best care of his bees and produce the best honey that he can.

“When you work with social insects like honeybees, it’s so fascinating,” Gil said. “You’re all the time in the field, and you see different kinds of blossoms, and with every kind of blossom, you have to see how it’s affecting your beehives.”

Gil is always happy to hear from satisfied customers, especially those who appreciate the effort he puts into providing all-natural honey.

“It’s giving me a smile when you hear that the customers are happy,” Gil said.