You can now try honey harvested from the Empire State Building

Last year around this time, the Empire State Building acquired a whopping 50,000 new workers—worker bees, that is!

In October of 2022, A​​lvéole urban beekeepers installed a hive on a sixth floor patio of the legendary scraper of the skies; NYC’s hottest new address for winged insects. Busily they buzzed along, and now the fruits of their pursuits have been harvested, that liquid gold, that sweet amber, that nature’s candy (get out of here you raisins!): honey. 

Photograph: Courtesy of Empire State Realty TrustWatch out; it's bees!

The initiative, which was also “a part of the building’s continued sustainability initiatives and provides pollination to the surrounding area,” per a press release, also generated enough of the viscous stuff to incorporate into a few dishes at State Grill and Bar, a restaurant on the building’s ground floor. The über-closely-sourced ingredient appears in the kitchen’s artisanal local cheese board ($18), burrata and fig crostini ($19) and olive oil cake ($13). The harvest totaled a little more than 23 lbs of honey. 

“How long the honey lasts in the restaurant really depends on how it is used,” reps said via email. “For example, if it's being mixed into Bee’s Knees cocktails or used in a glaze, it could last quite a while. If it's being used with charcuterie boards, it might go a little quicker. The great thing about honey is that it will never spoil or go bad!”

Photograph: Courtesy of State Grill and Bar

The Empire State hive will remain on the property year-round, and these iconic-by-proxy bees' dedicated keeper has already taken measures to prepare the little stingers for the colder months to come. Provided they endure, expect another crop in 2024 “and bee-yond,” the release puns. 

This is not the Empire State Building’s first run-in with curious creatures. In 1933, it was famously scaled by Skull Island’s most notorious denizen, King Kong, who did not even contribute to any menu items for the trouble.