Help Save the Beez

Community: HUNNY BEEZ AMERICAN FILIPINO FUSION

By Angie Helvey, Contributing Writer

HHunny Beez has been serving American grilled comfort food with Filipino flavor at Bite of Newberg food cart pod for four years and has built a friendly community full of love and lumpia. But everything changed on Monday, June 5th, around 7:00 am, when their beloved food cart caught fire. Now Hunny Beez needs our help to rebuild so they can keep dishing out delicious barbecued Filipino fusion, always delivered professionally with a smile.

Co-owner Andrew Wegman was notified by a friend that morning that there was a fire at the food truck pod. Firefighters arrived on the scene quickly to put out the flames. Other trucks had minor damages, but the Hunny Beez cart was destroyed. The fire department is unsure how it started. Andrew suspects the initial source might have been a smoldering cigarette butt someone tossed in a nearby trash can. “The trash can is right next to the propane line. It looked like the propane line caught fire, and the propane tank shot flames into the truck.”

Whatever the cause, the fire is devastating for Andrew and his business partner Blossom, who originally bought the truck in June 2019. They first met 25 years ago, working in fast food, and both gained experience in all aspects of the restaurant industry before deciding to put their heads together and open the Hunny Beez food truck. Now they are in the process of opening a brick and mortar in Portland. “She’s Filipino, and I’ve got a lot of background in grilling and barbecue,” Andrew explains. “So we blended the two to create your backyard barbecue with a Filipino twist.” The Hunny Beez menu offers crispy homemade lumpia, gourmet burgers and sandwiches, and tasty rice bowls, everything made with tasty slow-smoked meats. “People love the rice bowls because they’re packed with flavor, and it’s a $10 meal that will fill you up,” says Andrew.

Hunny Beez has a huge following in Newberg, and they love cooking for the community. “It’s a little creepy, but after we have a rush, we’ll look out the window and watch people taking their first bite,” Andrew says with a laugh. “We love to see them try their food and look across the table with a big grin. It feels good that something we created made them happy.” Hunny Beez has been receiving heartfelt messages from some of their regular customers. “This is a smaller community, so we know our regulars, and that’s the hard part right now,” says Andrew. “There are people we see daily. We have relationships with them and are part of their routine. It’s sad to think I won’t see those faces anymore.”

Andrew and Blossom hope to re-open the Hunny Beez food truck. Their insurance policy covers the truck itself but none of the important contents inside or outside, like the grill, fridge, freezer, cooking utensils, smoker, etc. Estimated costs are anywhere from $26,000 to $35,000. Blossom’s daughter has set up a gofundme to cover these expenses. To help Hunny Beez rebuild, make your donation at https://www.gofundme.com/f/pw6qvb-helping-hand-for-hunnybeez. Andrew also asks that people continue patronizing Bite of Newberg’s food carts. “Keep shopping and dining there. They’re all small mom-and-pop businesses, and I don’t want to see anyone struggle.”