Bee Downtown plans Southeastern expansion after emerging from the pandemic

A year ago, Leigh-Kathryn Bonner was scared the pandemic could sink her business, Bee Downtown, which manages bee hives and conducts leadership training at corporate campuses across the Triangle and Atlanta.

Workers had been sent home and campuses were closed. Would companies cancel their contracts with Bee Downtown to save money?

“There was a moment of panic,” Bonner said in a telephone interview with The News & Observer.

But none of those companies canceled. And, Bee Downtown pivoted to creating online activities that proved popular with burnt-out employees — especially for their children who were stuck at home with them.

Now, Bee Downtown appears to be emerging from the pandemic in an even stronger position.

The company is forecasting 50% growth in revenue, and, for the first time in four years, will begin working with companies in cities outside of the Triangle and Atlanta.

Bonner said Bee Downtown will expand this year to Charlotte; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C. and Tampa, Florida.

Already, Bee Downtown has installed its first hives in Richmond — on top of a Sun Trust building. And two companies in Charlotte already have signed on with Bee Downtown.

The expansion was originally supposed to happen last year, but Bonner paused those plans because of the pandemic.

“Being good bee keepers for the bees is our priority, first and foremost,” she said. “We think we have figured that out. And we are ready to begin expanding.”

A corridor of bees

Bee Downtown has worked with some of the largest employers in the Triangle and Atlanta. Hives can be found on the campuses of Chick-fil-A, Delta Airlines, SAS and IBM. In the Triangle, the hives have created a 60-mile corridor for bees that stretches from Garner to Chapel Hill.

Bonner believes Bee Downtown’s growth can come from the in-person activities and leadership activities that it offers to employers.

While the pandemic forced many of those activities online, they have been successful, Bonner said.

“We were actually able to share programming with more employees than we have before because of virtual programming,” she said.

But the company is still hoping to launch its leadership institute in person once coronavirus cases drop off.

As Bee Downtown expands, the company said interest has never been higher. It just installed hives on top of Kane Realty-owned buildings in North Hills for the first time this spring.

Bonner said she believes companies are interested because they know they will need more amenities and reasons for people to come into the office in a post-pandemic world.

“Companies are looking for creative, fun and inviting things for people,” she said. “The bees do that. And we are not adding work to anybody’s plate. We do the work.”

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate