A Bee Themed Eatery on Beautiful St. Joseph Island
There’s a new restaurant on the island, Stubbees Beestro, and the locals and out-of-towners alike have found a destination they’re buzzing about! “A great place to meet with friends, enjoy coffee and savour food and desserts flavoured with local St. Joseph Island honey.”
The Sweet Story Behind Stubbees Beestro
Opened at the beginning of the year 2024, Stubbees Beestro is the talk of the island by breathing new life into a long-established restaurant location at Kent’s Corners on St. Joseph Island.
I spoke with co-owner, Cody Stubbe, who shared, “While we had little experience in the restaurant industry, we are lifelong St. Joseph Islanders, and with my sales and management experience, my wife’s hospitality experience and my mom Carol-Ann, owning the Bee Joyful Sewing shop in the same building, we decided to buy the whole building because we felt we could get the food portion of the business up and running. So far, we have had a great reception from our customers, they have given us very positive feedback and we’re grateful for that.”
“I am a licensed real estate agent, but my real passion is bees and beekeeping”, said Cody, “I operate Stub-bees Apiary, while my wife Stephanie and along with our full-time baker Tammy Crawford are the ones who run the restaurant on a day-to-day basis. We decided to make the business bee-themed because it made a lot of sense to incorporate our bee and honey products in the business.”
Sweetening Your Day, One Dish at a Time
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the menu is varied and has many options for any customer’s taste. There’s even a kid’s menu, that will satisfy the fussiest eaters. “Some of our favourite menu items include meat, chilli and cottage pies. Our burgers are also a big hit with a special sauce made from our honey. Customers love our vegetable wraps with homemade hummus and pesto too,” says Cody, “our chef comes up with specials and our customers enjoy them, like panzerotti, taco salad in a tortilla bowl, and every week we have Fish Fry Friday made with Coombs & Co. batter. It makes a big difference to have a trained chef on board. She can prepare menu items from scratch and in-house, with a lot of skill. We think that makes a big difference for our customers.”
“All of our beef comes from Penokean Hills Farms and our maple syrup from Gilbertson’s,” said Cody. The Beestro welcomes their customers to dine in and offers take-out and grab-and-go meals from the freezer. “We use microwave-safe dishes to make meal-time easier. Our bread is made in-house using ‘Anne’s Café’ bread recipes. It’s for sale in white, cheese and multi-grain. Our honey and Gilbertson’s Maple Products are also for sale.”
Buzz-Worthy Beverages
If you’re just looking for a hot or cold drink, Stubbees Beestro comes through! Not only with coffee and tea but cappuccino, latte and espresso along with hot apple cider, hot chocolate, and soft drinks.
Cody told me that plans for the Beestro include installing a take-out window, expanding the patio area, along adding an ice cream parlour. He summed up the ultimate plans for the Beestro. “We want to be here for our island customers and those who visit the island. We feel that consistency and quality food is the key.”
So far, Stubbees is on the right path and I think they will have a bright future serving everyone.
Stubbees Beestro
1581 Bridge Road, Richards Landing, St. Joseph Island
PH: (705) 246-8057
Email: stubbeesbeestro@gmail.com
Social: Facebook
