Honey Vendor Provides Sweet Relief at the Dearborn Farmers Market

Dave Zurek is well aware of the potential dangers that go along with his honey-producing hobby.

When he got into beekeeping, Zurek–owner of Northville-based Honey Bear Farms, which sells its goods each Friday at the –understood the pitfalls. He knew there would be times he would be stung while continually overseeing a collection of 100 hives.

In addition to the bees, the hives often can become heavy, weighing up to 80 pounds when they're ready for honey to be removed.

Despite that, Zurek said he wouldn't trade his hobby for anything.

"It's fun working with bees," he said. "It gives me something to do outdoors and people are always very curious about what we do, so it's very enjoyable."

Each year, his bees produce a couple of tons of honey, which keeps Zurek busy constantly monitoring his collection of hives, making sure there is enough room for bees to flourish and produce honey.

But the Northville man's fascination with bees has allowed him to sell the bounty at local farmers markets–including Dearborn and Plymouth–for the past six years. Each week, Zurek can be found selling locally produced honey–which, he says, has medicinal value, too.

In addition to his honey sales, Zurek–who runs his farm with his wife Linda–offers bee-removal services for area residents.

Most of Zurek's honey comes from hives he maintains at his home as well as at surrounding farms in Plymouth, Ypsilanti and Pinckney. In addition to his own honey, his stand offers buckwheat and orange blossom varieties that he gets from Florida.

The Dearborn Farmers Market runs Fridays from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. until Oct. 28 in the Muirhead Plaza behind the .

Also at the Market

• will present the Wellness at Work program.
• Only three markets left until the end of the season! Stop by today, Oct. 21 or Oct. 28.