Asal Bee Cafe

New Dearborn Health Store Sellis Raw, Organic Sidr Honey from Yemen | Eater Detroit

"Opened in April 2021, the elegant Asal Bee is a bustling Dearborn storefront selling Yemen’s prized sidr honey—often compared to New Zealand manuka and informally called “Middle Eastern manuka”—that Muaath Alghazli imports directly from family farmers back home. The sidr, gathered from the tiny flowers of the sidr tree, produces thick, pale-colored honey with a fiery, almost bitter aftertaste that Yemenis use for nutritional and medicinal purposes, and demand for it surged during the pandemic. Designed to resemble a honeycomb with a black-and-yellow retail space, Asal Bee offers about half a dozen varieties ranging from bright yellow to deep brown that customers sample by spoon, mix into water or tea, or stir into vegetables; notable offerings include Do’an Valley honey (about $50 a jar) and Jabali collected at high altitudes (about $250 a jar). Alghazli also sells almonds, chocolates, raisins and male garlic, plus coffees, medicines and perfumes that depend on honey, and he navigates import challenges caused by Yemen’s civil war and circuitous air routes through Oman, Saudi Arabia, or the UAE. While business is brisk, he emphasizes providing a community service—treating customers like family—and Asal Bee is open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m." - Monica Williams