HERITAGE
The Honey Bee Café and Bakery is yet another incarnation of this iconic building that formerly housed The DE Hardware, Breyers Grocery and The Picket Fence. The owner aimed to keep alive the history coursing through the walls when renovating this over a century old building into the now bright and friendly eatery and coffee house. Once inside you'll see the original wood floor, cast iron sinks and other great finds saved during the remodel displayed throughout the café.
Where's Shanesville?
Honey Bee Café is situated on the NE corner of what was once Public Square in historic Shanesville. The village was developed around the intersection of two Indian trails better known today as Ohio State Routes 93 & 39. Shanesville got its official name from Abraham Shane in 1814.
Shanesville attracted many descendants from both Germany and Switzerland because of it's picturesque countryside. Among the many immigrants who migrated to this beautiful village was Kathy's great grandfather in 1921. Godfried Stress along with his son Paul and soon to be son-in-law, Karl Dahler left Thun, Switzerland and arrived in the United States July of 1921. The 3 men settled in Shanesville and were joined the following year by Gotfried's wife, Anna "Ida" (Kathy's great grandmother) and daughters, Ida (Kathy's grandmother), Margaret, sons, Al and John "Hans", and soon to be daughter in law, Flora May. You can see John "Hans" paintings and carvings at The Alpine Historical Museum located downtown Sugarcreek.
The village of Shanesville was later surpassed in size and stature by Sugarcreek when the railroads came in the mid-19th century. The village of Shanesville was merged with the Village of Sugarcreek and took the name of Sugarcreek at midnight December 31, 1967.
Though the village of Shanesville ceased to exist on paper that evening it still exists in the hearts of many residents today. You'll see a memorial building on the SE corner of the square with two bronze plaques retelling it's history. And as a part of the 2014 bicentennial celebration a brick panel memorializing Shaneville's history, sculpted by a local artist Sherry Crilow was built on the same corner.
How did Honey Bee Café and Bakery get its name?
Doesn’t everyone go pick up a log with a hive of bees in the back of the car or truck and bring them home? It seemed pretty normal to a small town country girl when she rode along with her dad to do so. Having fresh unpasteurized honey at the table daily was a standard she didn’t dwell on much either. Today most of us realize how very precious honey bees are for our future. In honor of her late father, Kathy named Honey Bee Café, a suggestion from her sister, Patty, to remember him.