Honeybees find home at the Chase Park Plaza once again
ST. LOUIS — Nestled in the heart of the Central West End, within walking distance of Forest Park, the Chase Park Plaza hotel is a historic and fantastic place for people looking for a relaxed stay near downtown St. Louis.
“We’re standing on the roof of the Chase and we have two beehives behind us, home to roughly 10 thousand bees each,” said Eric Phillips, the Executive Chef for the Chase Park Plaza.
Two colonies of honeybees have returned to their rooftop home. The Chase’s roof once housed the bees, first introduced in 2018, until a temporary halt due to COVID-19.
“We got into this a few years ago, actually. Our old executive chef had the brilliant idea to try this,” said Phillips. “None of us knew anything about it; we all just jumped in feet first, and then it became a thing we got really excited about and passionate about.”
It then became a desire to save the bees and a commitment by the hotel to food sustainability.
Frames inside the HoneyBee Box—some filled with eggs—are where baby honeybees will be born in the next few days. Others are filled with pollen, which is where the production of fresh honey begins.
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According to Phillips, the last time they housed these honeybees, they produced 15 pounds of honey that the restaurant used.
“We had a little bit for the restaurants and then we also did little jars used as room amenities for VIP guests and things like that,” he said.
This has become the start of a tradition that Eric and the Chase staff hope to continue for years to come, saving the bees and food sustainability.
“Five years ago, when we thought this out, we had no idea but it sounded like the right thing to do. And then the more I got involved and the more it was just there, it just became part of something that was really part of what I wanted to do,” he said.
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