Charlotte Happenings is your monthly guide to events and things to do in and around Charlotte, NC.
Issue link: http://charlottehappenings.epubxp.com/i/753156
oanne de la Rionda says she didn't know what to get her husband, Randall, for Christmas in 2009, so she got creative. On a whim, knowing that he loved gardening, she bought him a single beehive. He began working with it in their Cotswold backyard, and it turned out he was a pretty good beekeeper. So much so that the couple quit their banking jobs and created Cloister Honey. They now own 50 hives and produce more than 17 different flavors of honey that are sold nationally in 500 stores. Here in Charlotte, you can find the honey everywhere from the shelves of The Fresh Market to Reid's Fine Foods. And while North Carolina has more beekeepers than any other state, the duo says they realized no one was doing flavored honey; the Queen City was the perfect launching pad. "Charlotte has a true entrepreneurial spirit," de la Rionda says of the people who helped them along the way. "We knew this was a banking town, but Charlotteans also really love and support small businesses." CLOISTER HONEY PHOTO COURTESTY OF ERIC GADDY PHOTO COURTESTY OF ERIC GADDY PHOTO COURTESTY OF ERIC GADDY MY FAVORITE CHARLOTTE HANGOUTS Paco's Tacos & Tequila Midwood Smokehouse Pinky's Westside Grill Bonterra Dining & Wine Room 22 WINTER 2016