The West Santa Rosa flagship location of the coffee shop and roaster Land and Water Coffee is now back open — and proudly bee-free.

That wasn’t the case 24 hours ago when Land and Water co-owner Max Bretzke said he was forced to temporarily close down the shop at 1301 Cleveland Avenue due to a first in his career: an infestation of bees somehow making their way into the business. Bretzke tells Eater that the team opened the cafe in the morning and initially noticed a small cluster of bees inside, but pretty quickly the numbers escalated and the insects began buzzing around customers. “I could tell that there was too much human-bee interaction going on, and that was it for me,” Bretzke says of the decision to close down the cafe while they called a bee expert to deal with the problem.

The team was aware there was a hive somewhere in the walls of the roastery but didn’t have any issues until the swarming on Monday, September 30. What their bee expert guessed was happening: The scent of the honey from the hive attracted even more bees to the point of “a few thousand” bees buzzing around the building, Bretzke says. The hive was found and accessible via the roof, then the bees and hive were removed before a portion of the wall was sealed back up.

The team maintains some good humor about the situation, with Bretzke musing over what they’ll do with the honeycombs — a honey-based weekend drink special, perhaps? — and he’s grateful for the loyal customers who were willing to stick out the buzzy situation. “It was certainly, certainly not the way that you would think the Monday would go, that’s for sure,” he says.

Two food halls debut in the Peninsula

Food halls are having a moment in the Peninsula with the addition of two new spaces that debuted on Monday, September 30, Palo Alto Online reports. The Hangar opened at 460 Forbes Boulevard in South San Francisco, with six restaurants inside, including La Ventana, the Layover, the Stack, the Board, and Peak Provisions (upcoming bar and restaurant Camber is set to open in October). Kurated Kitchens set up shop at 155 East Maude Avenue in Sunnyvale, serving as the food hall home to the 808 Drip, Srasa, Roost & Roast, Revival State Burgers, Hangry Sons, and Hatched.

Time is running out for legendary Sam Wo

San Francisco restaurant Sam Wo has been a staple of Chinatown for over a century, but the business may close at the end of the year if a buyer cannot be found, the San Francisco Standard reports. As chef and owner David Jitong Ho told the outlet last year, he wants to retire after more than 40 years running the restaurant, and he was looking for a buyer before the lease expires in January 2025. Fast forward to the present day, and Ho tells the Standard that a serious buyer still hasn’t emerged — and if one isn’t found, then the restaurant will close when the lease expires on December 31. Ho is hoping that doesn’t happen, but Sam Wo co-owner Steven Lee says if they’re forced to close, the historic items of the restaurant will most likely go up for auction and the brand will likely pivot to a packaged food line.

Bees!!!