Photos courtesy of Heavenly Honey

In 2016, Heavenly Honey opened their tasting room in downtown Ojai. “It is a special place where people can learn about honey, taste honey, and very importantly, feel happy,” says Barbara Haskins, co-owner and second generation beekeeper. 

This family run, high quality honey company was founded in 1979 in the Santa Clarita Valley by Haskins' father, Bob Mearns. The name Heavenly Honey came to her mother, Lynda in a dream. Although other local producers tried to stake their claim to it,  the Mearns family have successfully kept it for the past forty years.

During the end of his career in the 70's as a Deputy Sheriff for Los Angeles County, Mearns became fascinated with bees. Haskins recalls her father coming home with his first beehive in the backseat of his 1965 Volkswagen Bug. “I grew up keeping bees with my dad. He never went out to the hives without me until I left for college, “ Haskins says, “We got up to 1,500 colonies and we started a wholesale side of the business and bought honey from other beekeepers for the first thirty years.” 

In 2008 Mearns passed away and Haskins and Lynda were left to run the family business. After a difficult decision, Haskins and her mother decided to sell the bees to a close family friend and move the wholesale portion to Ojai, CA. “I feel like my father is still guiding the business. He sends me bees when it comes to making decisions I would not normally make, “ Haskins says. “The first day I opened the tasting room door, a bee came in and took a lap around the place, I felt that it was my father checking things out.” 

They continue to source honey from a select group of beekeepers who maintain the same practices that they had as beekeepers. They also know where every drop of their honey is produced.  Now, three generations work on everything from the delicate pouring of each 55 gallon drum one at a time to hand labeling each jar. Haskins, her mom Lynda, husband Jeff, and daughter Olivia all lend a helping hand to provide the best product possible to the community. “ I am happy to have my daughter and her friends helping out this summer with labeling our jars,” says Haskins. 

Although Heavenly Honey is turning 40 years old this year, they are so busy with the business that they’ll have to celebrate next year. “We have released a line of custom blended teas for the summer and we are pairing them with our honeys. We are also working on our licensing to make mead as well,” says Haskins. 

We look forward to Heavenly Honey’s future products and wish them another wonderful 40 years.