Ruth Harrigan never expected that her journey from a desire to raise backyard chickens to crafting award-winning honey would lead her to JFK Terminal 8, where her kiosk now introduces travelers to the sweet magic of HoneyGramz.
Her business began with Harrigan’s daughter wanting a puppy for her birthday but instead of a dog, she got her chickens. In researching how to raise chickens in her Queens backyard, she came upon a petition to legalize beekeeping in New York City which piqued her curiosity leading her to a beekeeping class. After the city lifted its ban on beekeeping, Harrigan began with two hives, and her passion grew alongside her unique knowledge of the practice.
When she was laid off from her finance job over a decade ago, Harrigan turned her hobby into a career. What began with selling honey jars evolved into an online store, a retail shop in Great Neck, and now a kiosk at JFK Terminal 8.
“As a resident of Queens, it is a dream come true to have our own space in the airport,” she said. “Having a chance to have our products in JFK allows us to share them with the whole world. My little honey jar will be sitting in kitchens across the globe. I am so grateful.”
At her kiosk she offers a collection of honey from New York and specializes in creamed honey. One of her best sellers is her Gold Sofi award winning Creamed New York Elderberry Honey. In addition to honey, she also offers bee themed tea towels, luggage tags, mugs, books, and more at her kiosk.
Harrigan takes pride in her high-quality products and her mission to educate customers about the importance of bees and pollination. She believes what sets her company apart is her advocacy, knowledge about bees, and passion for educating customers.
Harrigan, who uses local honey from Queens and upstate New York, credits her loyal customers for driving her to expand her offerings as many times a new honey flavor is because of customers' requests.
One of Harrigan’s favorite parts of owning a local business is giving back to the community. For years she has taught local students about bees, donated raised flower beds to local schools to plant pollinator gardens, and made monetary donations to local garden clubs.
Harrigan continues to have a presence at holiday markets in Union Square and Bryant Park.
