Adam Weiss, an early investor in another vegan concept called Café Gratitude, first launched Honeybee Burger in 2019.
Initially, he planned to expand the brand with virtual locations serving office workers seeking plant-based options. But the pandemic forced him to rethink.
Now Honeybee has a flagship brick-and-mortar location in Venice, Calif., along with the smaller original unit in midcity. A third location is under construction in New York City.
Weiss describes Honeybee as “vegan 2.0,” offering “fun on a bun,” including both Beyond and Impossible burger options ($10.95-$13.95). The broad menu includes options like plant-based chicken (Chick-a-Bee, $13.95) and fish filet (Fish-a-Bee, $9.95), a breakfast menu and “Frots,” ($3.95) a combined serving of fries and tots, which Weiss says travels better for delivery.
Honeybee is one of the first to offer shakes are made with pea-protein-based Ripple in various sizes ($4.95-$7.95).
“I thought there was a more approachable way to pursue veganism and make it more accessible and desireable … and do it around these new ingredients that heretofore were really hard to get,” he said.
Formerly of the finance world, Weiss also co-founded a food-tech company called Plantible, which is separate from Honeybee.
Weiss also plans to launch franchising.
“Our goal is to be coast to coast, and fill in in between,” he said. “We’re doing everything in a way to template and be very distinctive in everything we do. And the goal is to make something that’s easily stamped out and done across the country.”
Here’s Weiss on Honeybee’s journey and vote on LinkedIn or Instagram for which concept you think is going to be the first national plant-based concept.