Native Herbs and Honey

Story and photos by Gareth Kelly

Violet Cavanaugh and husband Aaron Pruitt have been beekeepers for many years; Cavanaugh is a seventh generation keeper. They have been fixtures at many local farmers’ markets, events such as the Renaissance Faire and everything in between where they could sell their honey, soaps, balms and lotions. However recent events started to take a toll on their business.
“This is the worst drought anyone can remember, said Cavanaugh. “It’s been devastating. Bees need a cold winter period to help kill mites but those cold winters haven’t happened. Coupled with this, the drought has left less flowers, less food and more yellow jackets. It’s all contributed to a really bad time for beekeepers. We realized we needed to change and diversify our business.”
As Los Osos residents they were also tired of having to drive to SLO to get a decent cup of coffee. By chance they had come across a vacant building at 1001 Santa Ynez in Los Osos where they could base their business operations making honey and soap. They also found out the building used to be a coffee shop.
“We asked the County about the possibility of putting a coffee shop back in the building,” said Pruitt. “They said OK so we started. We turned what was a closet into a kitchen, built new furniture, shelves, painted and added some antiques from various places, and before we knew it we had the Honey Café to complement our Native Herbs and Honey.”
It is not an ordinary coffee shop. The building is bright and airy with an assortment of rustic antiques and paintings dotted around creating a warm, welcoming and comfortable feel. With a member of staff making and stamping soap in front of customers, you can wander around engrossed with shelves filled with over 300 herbs and teas. Lotions and balms, an assortment of different honeys and a whole host of different soaps, candles, and beeswax litter the walls before you even get to the bakery! Home to the most incredible lemon bars and, what Cavanaugh hopes will be the best cinnamon roll in the county.
“Everything we make is organic and fresh and we really mean that,” said Pruitt. “We have our own farm right here at the corner of 18th and Pismo where we get a lot of our produce. Most of our friends are farmers and we all have so much produce we share with each other. It’s from our farm to our table and then to you. We offer breakfast and lunch as well as salads, soups, smoothies and much more. Everything is seasonal and our menu is flexible. Everything is made in a good way and we make everything with love.”
Love and passion are clearly evident in this café. Having built everything from scratch with just the two of them, things have been going so well that they are now able to employ three to four people part-time and hope to offer them all full time work in the near future. With classes teaching people how to make soap, lotions, balms and herbal teas, this unique business is changing lives and Los Osos.
“We are in a great location,” said Cavanaugh. “People love walking here especially moms with their kids on the way to school looking for something healthy and quick. The support of the community has been incredible. We hope to start giving back soon by offering a seniors program once a month where seniors can come and eat for free. Not everything is about profit, and we really want people to experience what we have to offer.”
The Native Café is open Monday through Saturday from 6.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located at 1001 Santa Ynez in Los Osos. You can find out more about all they do and all the products they make at www.nativeherbsandhoney.com.