10/22/2023
It is with deep sadness that I share with the Northern Virginia bee community that the Commonwealth Bee Company will be closing its doors effective December 31st of this year.
I started this company to help other beekeepers navigate the complexities of hive management while having a reliable, professional organization to bounce off ideas, share concerns, and reap the benefits of local honeybee stock and support. Since that time, the business quickly evolved into habitat development; relocating colonies requiring structural removal from buildings, schools, and offices. Though the 6 years in business we have re-homed countless colonies that could have been otherwise euthanized or entrapped. We shared local genetics, working with other honeybee farms and partners to sell hundreds of nucs and packages. We provided outreach and education to school systems, government organizations, universities, farmers markets, and special interest groups. We sold honey and hive products to countless northern Virginia kitchens from hives right in their neighborhood, to breweries for their beer, and to restaurants for their dishes and bar programs.
Even with all the successes and accomplishments of a small business, there comes countless hours of labor and sacrifices to other parts of my life. It has been a challenge to grow the business in a way that provides a level of service that aligns with my standards while ensuring proper balance with my personal responsibilities. It is because of this need to refocus and recover that I must do what’s best for my daughters and I. It is my hope that I will be able to redevelop this business into something even better at a later date, but for now, we must close this chapter and look at opening the next one.
Current beekeeper clients and waitlisted removal customers will be contacted via email on ways I can continue to support them in the spring. All removal customers with approved contracts will continued to be serviced.
In the coming weeks, I will be posting for sale items on the commonwealth bee company’s page. This will include wooden ware, hive bodies, supers, extractors and more. Please go directly to that page to see the most up to date listings. You can also message me through that page until the end of the year with equipment sale-specific questions.
This is not my departure from beekeeping, and I am hopeful to continue to have opportunities to help out with removals and other projects to support our community. I am so thankful to the support of all of my referral partners and relocation specialists who have supported this business throughout the years.
Until next time.
Brad & his Bees
