Honeybee Coffee Co. — Restaurant in Knoxville

Nice little space, great old building, that I was really happy to see 'reborn' and done very well inside and on the patio for one of my favorites pass times, people watchin'!

So, onward. The coffee was decent, I like mine a little darker and a little stronger, but that's on me. And they only had a Colombian (I believe that's what the really nice young lady said?). My buddy loved his I should add. That said, I'm buying a two pound bag of the Harvester blend when I finish this. AND, I will be back soon, no doubt. I only review a joint to HELP the business, not so much the person reading it online. I've opened, operated and sold a few and a polite, constructive critique here and there was always welcome. I hope the owner(s?) get filthy rich and corner the local coffee shop market in East Tennessee!

So, why the three stars? One, the price was pretty high considering I can grab a decent coffee a few blocks from my house at Panera for $2.39, plus tax, with unlimited refills. I almost fell over when I asked for a refill and it was just under $2, with tax! The first cup was around $4? I could be off there, sorry if I am! Also, I tipped, which made two cups of coffee well over $6. And I know, they're not a MASSIVE 'Megacoffee Co Inc' firm that can buy thousands of pounds at one time, at an amazing price. I'd like to see the refill offered UP FRONT, for $1 maybe? One of my favorite coffee joints in the country is a similar joint in Idaho that does this, also a 'never ending cup' price option. The subscription is a good idea if it's close but for me I just don't live close enough to 'pop in'. I do a lot of mundane business stuff at shops because I don't have distractions like at home (TROOPER DAWG!), or worse, a hotel room or lobby with middlin' quality coffee, at best, and a weird vibe.

I ALWAYS revisit my reviews when I can and post positive updates if applicable. And, they never go down, I just don't go back.

So, really nice place for a cup of coffee, especially the building, the hood it's in, and the staff. A couple of niggling items and an awesome sack of beans, who knows? I may become a regular and the review turn...

Attention HoneyBee Management

Today was my first time going to HoneyBee South, and I was really looking forward to it since I’ve seen so many posts of their, what appears to be, calming environment. I went on a Sunday evening for a business meeting at 5:30pm thinking I had plenty of time to talk with my potential clients since their Sunday hours are posted as 8am-7pm. At about 6:10pm an employee started walking around the tables informing everyone that they actually closed at 6pm tonight. His exact words were, “hey guys just letting you know that we actually closed at 6pm tonight, but it’s okay. Take your time. We didn’t post on social media that we were closing early.”

We then felt rushed to finish the consultation, and about 5 minutes later at 6:15ish they started playing dance music SUPER loudly. Every few minutes they kept turning the music up EVEN LOUDER! Mind you, they told us to take our time because they failed to let the public know they were closing early. The song was also London Bridge by Fergi which is already a pretty loud, in-your-face kind of song!

The meeting was going great until the loud music rudely interrupted us. The music got so loud that we were literally SHOUTING at each other to hear one another over the BLARRING music! If the staff working this night had more professionalism, then I would’ve closed a deal on the spot rather then needing to meet back up with them later to seal the deal. It seemed like the staff working just decided to close early instead of respect their operating hours and their...

Great coffee, but more importantly, great service. I travel extensively and try to check out any 3rd wave coffee shops I can while I am in town. Honeybee's selections of coffee grabbed my attention and I proceeded to go, hoping to obtain a bag of an Ethiopian varietal that looked delicious. Sadly, they were sold out, but seeing my disappointment, Elliot the barista, offered me some from the small amount they had behind the counter to take home and try. Awesome! When I asked him what coffee of the ones available he liked, he gave me a great description that showed his coffee awareness was far above most barista's I have interacted with. Elliot gets 5 stars for not only his great customer service skills, but for his knowledge and experience with coffee and his ability to express it in a meaningful way. In regards to the coffee itself, the coffee appears to be a light/city roast, roasted to the perfect point, where the sugars are released without burning them, Great mouthfeel, great flavor profiling, and overall an excellent coffee roaster. I highly suggest checking out...