A Sweet Roadside Treat
While driving down the dusty roads of Tucson Arizona, you may stumble across a pale trail of hand painted signs lining the side of the road. Follow them, and you’ll find yourself at a humble honey stand. There are many like it, but this one is Kevins.
It’s no secret that Tucsonans love their local raw honey. There’s something about the sticky sweet treat tap dancing its way across the tongue that makes it truly special. I’ve always found that the locally farmed honey always tastes better than anything you can find off the shelf. The flavors become richer and deeper, while the sweetness grows to be pleasantly pure.
It was this deep Tucsonan desire that drew us to a small lot just off of Catalina and Houghton one blustery Sunday. We were going to meet Kevin. The man who could sell us honey.
Meeting Kevin
Kevin Kolomichuk is the proud owner and sole employee of Kevin’s Honey Stand. Its signature yellow tent has become a beacon of hope for Tucsonans craving something sweet.
Now, that’s precisely what we we’re — a honey hungered Tucsonans — as we hopped from the car down onto the gravel lot below. The first thing we noticed was Kevin, sitting behind the table. The second thing we noticed was the rows of honey jars lined out in front of him, their deep dark contents beckoning us forward. The third thing we noticed was the large white banner behind Kevin. It read “SPECIALTY COFFEE” in a bold black print. It looked as though Kevin had branched out into the coffee business as well. Perhaps we would be bringing home more than just honey.
As we approached the stand, Kevin – sitting behind his table – noticed and flashed a friendly smile. Neither of us had never been to a honey stand before. Sure, we had both been graced with their goods through friends and family, but actually visiting one in person was a first. The table in front of Kevin presented us with several jars of dark rich honey to choose from. On the table to his left sat several bags of coffee beans, a couple of silver cans hand labeled “K’s Cold Brew”, and a large steaming thermos. Before we could pick a jar, we started to talk to Kevin.
The Honey Stand
As we talked with Kevin, the dusty Tucson wind cutting between our words, we learned more about the Honey Stand and the man, both literally and figuratively, behind it.
Kevin’s Honey Stand was born in 2016. It all began in the small lot off of Catalina and Houghton — the very spot where we stood talking — as a part time gig. In the beginning, it was just Kevin, a small black table, and some jars of honey stashed in the back of his Mazda hatchback. In his own words, he had “No tent, no nothing”. As the stand became more popular and began to turn a profit, Kevin invested in a key part of his current brand — the stand’s distinct yellow tent. Back then, the honey stand was only a part time job for Kevin, but as the years rolled by, the stand grew and grew until running it became Kevin’s full time job.
“It started out as a small little thing” he told us. “I had some pints and then some quarts, and then some speciality half pints, and then it just grew to infused honey, and then it expanded into coffee bags and to cold brews, and now the specialty hot coffee … It’s been crazy busy lately!”
Today, Kevin stocks a wide variety of locally farmed raw honey. He sells wildflower honey, creamed honey, honeys infused with a swath of tantalizing flavors, and raw comb honey. In addition to his honey offerings, Kevin now also stocks his own blend of specialty whole bean coffee, cold brew, and fresh hot coffee to tempt the Tucson community. Kevin made it clear, no matter how large his business grows, he wants to make sure his customers “have a solid location where they know that they can pick up their favorite honey, and have a good experience picking it up.”
Taste Testing the Products
After we were done talking, Kevin invited us to taste some of his inventory for that day. Sadly enough, not all of the flavors that appeared on his website were available that day so we were not able to taste all of the delicious products that Kevin has to offer. First, Kevin wanted us to taste his cold brew. Even though neither of us are very big coffee drinkers, Kevin’s cold brew was quite flavorful. The refreshing cold brew went down my throat smoother than a limousine ride.
After tasting the cold brew, we were eager to try the different types of honey that Kevin had for sale.On that Sunday afternoon, Kevin only had two different types of honey on his stand, a quart of his Mesquite honey and half a pint of his Creamed Chocolate honey. Kevin handed us each a sample sized portion of the creamed chocolate and mesquite. The first flavor we tasted was the creamed chocolate which Kevin describes “it’s like candy and everyone loves it!” He wasn’t wrong. The creamed chocolate almost tasted like a savory chocolate spread that could be placed on about any kind of bread for a delicious breakfast or snack. The mesquite flavor was more of your traditional honey flavoring with a hint of smokiness that added more character to the taste. At that moment, we could only imagine how great it would compliment a steamy cup of hot tea. If you aren’t really a sweet tooth, you can’t go wrong with the mesquite. With a great salesmanship to go along with exceptional tasting honey, there was no way we were going to walk away without purchasing some of the honey.
Topping Things Off
If you are looking for a boring salesman who doesn’t care about their customers, you aren’t in the right place. Upon arrival, Kevin made me feel like valued customers by cracking jokes throughout our conversation. We got to witness Kevin in action when a new customer approached his stand and they were treated as though they were one of his favorite customers.
One thing that stuck with us was Kevin’s response to our question about why his honey stand is different from anyone else’s. He responded with “The way you converse with me is going to be different than any other honey stand. My personality is my brand because I’m my own business.” Constant jokes and laughter made the 30-40 minutes we were out there fly by. The experience alone was enough to bring me back in the future when it’s time to buy more honey!
Be sure to check out Kevin’s Website, Instagram, and Facebook for all your honey needs!
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Benjamin S. is a Tucson native majoring in computer science. Reid Codwell is currently majoring in pre-business. Both are undergraduates at the University of Arizona.