2025 September issue of InMaricopa Magazine

2025 September issue of InMaricopa Magazine InMaricopa.com InMaricopa is Maricopa's premier local news source InMaricopa is your go-to source for hyper-local news and information about Maricopa, Arizona. Stay informed with the latest community updates, events, and stories that matter to our city. InMaricopa is the only dedicated news outlet focusing exclusively on the city of Maricopa, ensuring residents are always in the know.

September 2025

www.InMaricopa.com

Honey, I’m home! Saving the bees is a buzzing business for these Maricopa couples

20 25

Food & Beverage

Guide Page 35

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CONTENTS

LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 6 Contributors 6 HISTORY This month in history 8 Before it was Duke’s Roadhouse 8 GOVERNMENT How Maricopa’s courts are handling bigger caseloads 10 Permits 14 COMMUNITY For area couples, beekeeping is a buzzing business 16 We mapped all the roadside memorials on SR 347 24 BUSINESS Mapping business news 30 Restaurant inspections 32 FOOD & BEVERAGE GUIDE Step behind the swinging double doors 36 Mandy pours her heart into her dream wine bar 38 Best restaurants and dishes in the city, according to readers 40 New restaurateurs reflect on their first year in business 44 What to know about the city’s growing food truck scene 48 New restaurants put Maricopa on the map with novel nightlife options 50 What new restaurants are coming to town soon? 54 Experts evaluate city’s restaurant economy and predict what’s next 56 Mapping every Maricopa restaurant 58 Where to eat in Maricopa 60 Restaurants that never close 61

HEALTH & WELLNESS Can AI replace therapy? Let’s be honest 63 How to make ‘good skin days’ your default setting 64 HOME How to cultivate aloe vera for medicinal use 66 Extreme home sales 67 How to defer taxes on a recession-era investment property 68 5 silent profit killers for self-managed landlords 69

EVENTS Calendar 70 TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 79 PARTING SHOT Wild one 80

ON THE COVER Brian Petersheim Jr. captures Bill “the Bee Guy” Johnson smoking an angry swarm from a hive in Hidden Valley before 7 a.m. one warm August day.

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

FROM THE EDITOR

MUSD Community Preschool The Early Childhood Leader in Maricopa Community Preschool provides fun, skills-based activities that explore science, literacy, math, art, music, dramatic play, and more! Our rich curriculum aligns to Arizona Early Learning Standards to build skills and promote healthy social-emotional development. Our students work and play together to explore their curiosities, build confidence, and develop problem solving skills for a life-long love of learning.

W Hungry for great journalism WITH THE FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF FALL, September always offers hope to a city tired of sweating. This year is no exception. Soon, it’ll be prime weather for afternoon barbeques and patio dining. Which reminds me of something... We’re thrilled to bring you

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

Editorial Director ELIAS WEISS

beekeeping couples, complete with his first (and sadly last) cover photo. Brian’s energy and dedication will be deeply missed, but his legacy of storytelling here will last. Elsewhere in this edition, David

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

Advertising TAWNI PROCTOR AMBER ROGALLA BRITTANY RUSSELL MICHELLE SORENSEN

Iversen takes readers on a moving journey along State Route 347, documenting roadside memorials and the lives they honor. Monica D. Spencer breaks down the often-confusing differences between Maricopa’s Municipal Court and Justice Court, an explainer that’s long overdue. As always, we’re grateful to have you along for the ride as Maricopa

InMaricopa magazine’s 2025 Food & Beverage Guide — the biggest and best we’ve ever produced. This year’s guide is over 50% larger than last year’s, packed with dozens of new Maricopa eateries to discover, exclusive interviews with the people behind the menus, fun foodie facts and stunning

Writers KRISTINA DONNAY

JUSTIN GRIFFIN DAVID IVERSEN DAYV MORGAN BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. HARRIET PHELPS BRIANNA REINHOLD TOM SCHUMAN MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES

continues to grow and evolve. Next month we’ll be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and getting just a little spooky as October rolls around. Until then, happy dining, Maricopa.

photography that will make you hungry before you even hit the first page. Think of it as your one-stop passport to dining in a growing city. We keep up with the foodie scene so you don’t have to. But this issue is also bittersweet, as we say goodbye to one of our own. After five years, reporter Brian Petersheim Jr. is moving on to new journalism ventures in the Valley. In his time here, Brian authored more than 1,400 articles. He tracked police and fire calls, followed social media trends, wrote cover stories on car shows and tabletop games, and was a relentless go-getter — scouring the daily police blotter and monitoring airwaves for crashes or emergencies that might affect your drive home. His final story for us is both fitting and poignant: a feature on Maricopa’s

Photographers DAVID IVERSEN

ELIAS WEISS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Elias@inMaricopa.com

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

Send your reactions with a photo of yourself at the QR code to be published in a future edition of InMaricopa magazine.

MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.

BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.

HALF-DAY PRESCHOOL NOW AVAILABLE

CONTRIBUTORS

VALUES

• Integrity • Accountability

Locations Butterfield Elementary School - (520)-568-6100 Maricopa Elementary School - (520) 568-5160 Pima Butte Elementary School - (520) 568-7150 Saddleback Elementary School - (520) 568-6110 Santa Cruz Elementary School - (520)-568-5170 Santa Rosa Elementary School - (520)-568-6150

• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company

THE MUSD PROMISE • Certified Teachers • Licensed Facilities • Arizona Standards-Based Curriculum • Full-Day Academic Program • Dual Language Preschool (Santa Rosa) • Early Reading • Arts, Music, and Physical Education • Technology

Volume 20, Issue 9 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-568-0040 Tel News@InMaricopa.com Advertising@InMaricopa.com

Full-Day Community Preschool Monday - Friday 8:35 AM-3:35 PM/8:10 AM-3:10 PM, $680/Month

DAYV MORGAN Realtor Dayv tells how to avoid footing a massive tax bill when you sell.

TOM SCHUMAN Contributing reporter Tom checks out the city’s nascent nightlife scene.

KRISTINA DONNAY Doctor Kristina has a way to turn “good skin days” into your default setting.

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2025.

Half-Day Preschool at Butterfield Elementary Only Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 8:35-11:35 AM/12:35-3:35 PM, $310/Month

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InMaricopa.com | September 2025

RED HOT BUYS VALID UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30

HISTORY

Barnstormed The large, two-story building wedged between Maricopa Road and the John Wayne Parkway overpass has more history than a newcomer might realize. Now home to Duke’s Roadhouse, the giant wooden structure at 19395 N. Maricopa Road was once a fixture of Maricopa’s main drag, right next to the old railroad crossing. In 2011, it housed a carwash, divorce lawyer, hair salon and sign maker. Across the street sat the Maricopa Business Barn — better known to locals as “the red barn.” By 2018, the carwash had become A1 Pawn, filling the lot with U-Haul trailers, while the red barn had been repainted blue. The large awning that once sheltered car washes and later stored U-Haul trailers has since been transformed into an interior platform for Maricopa nightlife. Walls were added to enclose the space, giving the city its very own honky-tonk.

Maricopa

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.

5 years ago

10 years ago

15 years ago

20 years ago

Ex-Maricopa County Sheriff’s detective Christopher Butts was arrested twice in Maricopa sting operations targeting child predators. First arrested in March in Cobblestone Farms for allegedly soliciting a 13-year-old online, he was caught months later in a late- summer undercover sting after arranging to meet a girl he believed was underage, agreeing to bring Chick-fil-A. He fled upon seeing “unmarked popo cars,” police said, and was later arrested at Big O Tires. He pleaded guilty to aggravated luring of a minor for exploitive sex.

Eagle Scout candidate Austin Long organized a team of volunteers to clean the exterior and renovate the interior of the California Zephyr Silver Horizon at the Maricopa Amtrak station. “We’ll be fixing the frame, replacing some screws and cleaning it because it’s really dirty,” Long said. “We’re power washing the outside because the train was in a movie called Pearl Harbor and the movie makers painted it. It doesn’t look very good, so we’re going to have that paint removed.”

Pinal County Animal Care and Control officers, working with the sheriff’s and attorney’s offices, seized 152 cats and 19 dogs from a Hidden Valley home. “The house was simply filthy with no running water,” PCACC director Ruth Stalter said. “It was shocking. This is the largest rescue from hoarding-type conditions in the history of Animal Care and Control.” Officials used a horse trailer to move the animals to a shelter, and those healthy enough were adopted out. In 2004, PCACC had removed 58 cats and 40 dogs from the same homeowner.

The Fry’s Marketplace center was bustling with new businesses in September 2005. On Aug. 31, Fry’s opened its doors, soon followed by The UPS Store, Wells Fargo, XTreme Fitness, Cost Cutters and Above & Beyond Nails Spa. At the time there was no Starbucks inside, but in its place was Tully’s Coffee Shop, complete with its own chairs and couches.

We are pet friendly as long as they are Smokey friendly

21542 N John Wayne Pkwy, Maricopa (520) 494-7805 • www.AceHardware.com

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

GOVERNMENT

Order in the courts How Maricopa’s justice system navigates growth, caseloads and public relations BY MONICA D. SPENCER

TOTAL CASES FILED BY MARICOPA MUNICIPAL COURT

5,123 traffic

2022 6,408 cases

S MARICOPA’S POPULATION continues to grow, so do the caseloads for its courts. Judges are tasked not only with balancing

959 misdemeanors

326 other civil

accessibility, efficiency and fairness but also with making the court system easier for the public to navigate. Three courts serve Maricopa and surrounding communities: Maricopa Municipal Court, Western Pinal Justice Court and Pinal County Superior Court. Each handles distinct types of cases. InMaricopa spoke with judges from two of these courts to gain insight into their roles, challenges and common misconceptions. Editor’s note: Some quotes have been lightly edited for readability. Maricopa Municipal Court Stephen McCarville brings decades of experience to Maricopa Municipal Court, including over 20 years on the Pinal County Superior Court, six as presiding judge. In January 2023, the Maricopa City Council appointed him interim presiding judge for the municipal court. He describes his role as overseeing court operations and ensuring fair, efficient administration of justice within city limits. What is Maricopa Municipal Court? The municipal court serves as the city’s limited jurisdiction court, handling cases that occur within city limits. These include misdemeanors, civil traffic citations, DUIs, protective orders and violations of city ordinances. Its mission is to provide accessible, community-centered justice reflecting the values and needs of Maricopa residents. What types of cases do you most typically hear? In 2024, the municipal court processed a total of 8,645 case filings. The majority — approximately 64% — were civil traffic violations. What challenges does the court encounter with a rapidly growing community like Maricopa?

5,902 traffic

2023 7,351 cases

1,293 misdemeanors

156 other civil

5,831 traffic

2024 8,048 cases

1,646 misdemeanors

571 other civil

not dramatic courtroom battles. Second, victims must press charges. Prosecutors can pursue charges even if the victim doesn’t want to, especially in serious cases like domestic violence. How does your court educate the public? The court is actively exploring new and meaningful ways to engage with the community and promote public understanding of the justice system. Educational initiatives include hosting interactive mock trials that give participants a hands-on view of courtroom proceedings and conducting Q&A sessions at local schools to foster civic awareness among students. In addition, the courthouse offers copies of the comic book The Family Circus Visits the Courts by Bil Keane. These are available upon request to help make court concepts more accessible and relatable, especially to younger audiences. These outreach efforts are designed to demystify the legal process, build trust and empower community members with knowledge about their rights and responsibilities.

Hon. Stephen McCarville

court prioritizes ensuring that every visitor is treated as a valued member of the community, reinforcing its dedication to public trust and service excellence. What are common misunderstandings the public tends to have about the court? First, that every case goes to trial. In reality, most cases — especially criminal ones — are resolved through plea bargains or settlements,

As Maricopa experiences continued population growth, the municipal court faces the significant challenge of maintaining consistent service levels despite a soaring caseload — averaging 865 cases per employee, the highest in Pinal County. In response, the court remains committed to a people-first approach, emphasizing dignity, respect and accessibility in every interaction. Even under increased operational demands, the

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

September 2025 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

Western Pinal Justice Court Patricia Glover ran unopposed for the Justice of the Peace seat last year and was appointed nearly three months early by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. She will serve through 2028. Glover enjoys “explaining the processes and decisions to people,” helping them understand how the law applies to their case. What is the Western Pinal Justice Court? This court handles small claims, civil traffic violations, criminal misdemeanors, evictions and orders of protection or injunctions against harassment. What types of cases do you most typically hear? Traffic violations and small claims under $10,000. What challenges does the court encounter with a rapidly growing community like Maricopa? We do not have the court staff to support the filings that we have coming in. For example,

TOTAL CASES FILED BY WESTERN PINAL JUSTICE COURT

the Pioneer Justice Court in San Tan Valley has a very similar number of case filings, but they have twice the number of clerks to handle the incoming filings. Because the city of Maricopa has grown as quickly as it has, we haven’t been able to get approval for the staffing positions to keep up with that. We do have a solution pending, but we have to go through the proper steps to get it approved. What are common misunderstandings the public tends to have about the court? A lot of people come in and they’re confused by the steps they need to take. Since we are a lower jurisdiction court, a lot of times people don’t have representation or attorneys to help them navigate the court system, so they’ll ask questions. The court can answer general questions or give general legal information, but we can’t give legal advice because we’re a neutral third party. I think people in general struggle with navigating the court system, so we’ve tried to simplify the processes, like providing

PINAL COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

Pinal County Superior Court is the county’s general jurisdiction trial court, handling larger and more serious cases than the municipal or justice courts. Felonies — such as burglary, aggravated assault and drug trafficking — and civil disputes over $10,000 are heard here. The court also handles divorce, child custody, juvenile cases and probate matters, including wills and estates. The key difference is scope 1 and seriousness: Superior Court addresses major, life-altering legal issues, while municipal and justice courts focus on everyday legal matters with more limited authority. 2317

2,841 traffic

2022 5,163 cases

307 misdemeanors

1,892 civil

123 felonies

4,504 traffic

2023 7,262 cases

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2,423 civil

220 misdemeanors

Felonies

misdemeanors

115 felonies

2023

Table 1

CRIMINAL CASES FILED IN PINAL COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

4,221 traffic

2024 7,950 cases

2,317 felonies

3,373 civil

240 misdemeanors

2022 2,415 cases

Felonies

2526

misdemeanors

116 felonies

2023

Table 1

98 misdemeanors

downloadable forms for free. But they still contain a lot of legal jargon, which can be confusing to someone who’s not used to reading it every day. How does your court educate the public? We are currently working on several initiatives to simplify court processes and provide more online options, making it easier for self- represented parties to navigate the system. As chairman of the Forms Committee for the county justice courts, I am developing accessible do-it-yourself packets to guide the public through common procedures. Additionally, we recently added a new website link where people can access information about civil traffic tickets. Visitors can learn about the process, view their hearing dates and even make payments online — eliminating the need to come to the courthouse in person.

misdemeanors

Felonies 2,526 felonies

2023 2,624 cases

Felonies

2534

misdemeanors

2023

Table 1

97 misdemeanors

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Felonies 2,589 felonies

misdemeanors

2024 2,589 cases

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55 misdemeanors

Hon. Patricia Glover

misdemeanors

Felonies

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

September 2025 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

A Private School Quality Education Tuition Free

Honeycutt Luxury Rentals permit for 648-square- foot shade structure at Honeycutt Run . Overland Flats Apartments solar permit to install 228 panels on parking canopies at Overland Apartments , valued at $625,000. Gunsmoke Ranch Apartments LP multiple at- risk commercial foundation-only permits for 49 units at Ranches at Gunsmoke . Overland Flats Apartments shade structure permit for carports at Reinsman Commons . IH Maricopa Apartments Owner II 3 commercial shade structure permits for Stonegate apartments at 42584 W. Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. The contractor is Commercial Solar Arizona. CC Fund II Maricopa interior alterations permit for The UPS Store at 20917 N. John Wayne Parkway, valued at $75,000. RESIDENTIAL Century Communities to construct 2 homes in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado. D.R. Horton to construct 14 homes in Sorrento, 19 in Elena Trails, 17 in Moonlight, 2 in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado. Gehan Homes to construct 1 home in The Lakes at

Rancho El Dorado. KB Homes to construct 1 home in Desert Passage. Landsea Homes to construct 3 homes in Moonlight. Lennar Arizona to construct 6 homes in Anderson Farms. Meritage Homes to construct 11 homes in Rancho Mirage.

BRIEF

Permits July 11 – Aug. 10

COMMERCIAL Racing Clubhouse 11 at-risk commercial foundation-only permit for clubhouse at Apex Motor Club, valued at $120,000. Racing Clubhouse 11 tenant improvement permit at Apex Motor Club, valued at $50,000. AZ Real Estate 005 major development review permit for Circle K gas station at 42150 W. Maricopa- Casa Grande Highway. City of Maricopa addition permit for recreation center expansion at 17985 N. Greythorn Drive. The contractor is Chasse Building Team Inc. Elena Trails BLF detached structure permit for 771-square-foot structure at 34805 W. Lucca Drive, valued at $46,591. Sam MC I Ph1 permit for 120-square-foot shade structure at Home at Maricopa .

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InMaricopa.com | September 2025

COMMUNITY

Bill Johnson removes a frame from a beehive on the Hart Farm along Ralston for inspection July 31.

Honey, I’m home! Maricopa couples are working to save the bees BY BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR.

IPPING YOURSELF INTO A beekeeping suit for the first time can feel surprisingly nerve-wracking. You start by sliding one leg, then

the other, into the stiff white pants, pulling them up awkwardly. Then comes the heavy and unfamiliar jacket, zipped all the way up over your shoulders, sealing you in. Finally, you tug the hood over your head, the mesh veil dropping in front of your face, and zip it closed. In triple-digit heat, with the warm suit on, you walk toward the hive. The space no longer belongs to you — it belongs to the bees. And when you start messing with them, they don’t hesitate to turn it into a swarm. Perhaps they get inside your suit; hopefully, they don’t. That’s by no means to say these small, bumbling insects are bad creatures. In fact, they are among the most valuable in the world, according to some locals, but they will defend their queen with their lives. Rancho El Dorado residents Angela and Andrew Mattson, owners of Mattson’s Good Bees, maintain their own hives in Maricopa and Flagstaff and have seen firsthand what bees can do for the environment. The company’s name was chosen to teach their son, Antero, the difference between wasps and the good ones. The couple began beekeeping as a hobby in 2020, and soon after setting up their first apiary, they noticed a change in the surrounding environment. In Maricopa, they use Flow Hives — wooden beehives with plastic frames that allow you to harvest honey from a tap while still being able to see inside. When they placed their apiary, Andrew recalled, “Flowers started to come out more often on all the surrounding trees and bushes, but then lizards, roadrunners, birds and the whole ecosystem kind of changed — just because of putting out bees and an apiary.” He added, “Just putting small bees around in an area significantly changes it over a period of less than two or three years. It’s a huge change.”

From left: Andrew, Angela and Antero Mattson

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

September 2025 | InMaricopa.com

COMMUNITY

that they have,” Liza said. “It’s beyond human comprehension sometimes.” During the brutal summer, when there is nothing blooming for the bees, the Williamses put some “bee bread” inside the hive — a mix of pollen, honey and nectar — to get the bees by until temperatures drop and their lavender farms are in bloom. Sometimes, when Liza and Will maintain the hive, they wear suits; other times, they don’t. During an interview for this story, the bees were extremely passive and didn’t mind when their frames were pulled out for inspection. “They’re doing what their God-given task is to do, and that’s all that’s on their agenda: go out, pollinate, bring whatever the queen needs, and they do that for 40 days,” Liza Williams said. “It’s also kind of sad because they still, in their mind, need to help the queen and the colony. So, in the last days of their life, they’ll drink a lot of water, fan the front, and then they’ll die.” They’re doing what their God- given task is to do, and that’s all that’s on their agenda: go out, pollinate, bring whatever the queen needs, and they do that for 40 days.” LIZA WILLIAMS, BEEKEEPER What’s the buzz about? Thunderbird Farms residents Bill “The Bee Guy” and Monica Johnson keep millions of the little buggers in over 80 different hives at their home, across the Valley and on properties surrounding the popular sunflower fields along Ralston Road. Liza Williams met the couple on Facebook when she was first learning the hobby and says Bill Johnson took her “under his wing” as a mentor. He was easy to find because of his online moniker, BilltheBeeGuy. “He’s basically my living beekeeping bible,” Liza Williams said. “The way he beekeeps may not be the way that I beekeep, but in a sense he teaches me how to handle the problems when they arise.” The Johnson couple first became interested in bees about five years ago, when they found a hive in their chicken feed. “We opened up the 55-gallon drums of feed, and it’s full of bees,” Bill Johnson said. “They weren’t aggressive, which made us very curious about it too.” The couple did some research on beekeeping and found it was best to get not one hive, but

Thunderbird Farms residents Liza and Will Williams inspect a hive at their home farm July 28.

A GAME OF THRONES

hive into several different colonies and then giving each its queen tends to work better for him. “That’s responsible beekeeping, that’s how it’s supposed to be done.” Once the new queen is accepted and starts laying eggs, the mean bees will eventually live out their life cycle and be replaced by nicer and gentler bees that match the queen. “In the space of three or four months, you’ve gone from a mean hive to a very gentle hive,” Bill Johnson said. “That’s how it’s done in the removal business, that’s how we save the bees in my mind, rather than exterminate them.” If hives are placed too close to each other, they can get aggressive toward one another, with the larger ones attacking the smaller ones: “It’s a game of thrones thing, survival of the fittest.”

Honeybees function as a caste system with a queen, worker bees and drones. If the queen is mean, so are the bees. If the queen isn’t up to standards, they’ll kill her and replace her. “If you’ve got a mean queen, then you need to go in and remove her, depending on how mean the hive is,” Thunderbird Farms beekeeper Bill “The Bee Guy” Johnson said. “They want a queen, they want to continue to procreate, so you wait three days and bring in a new queen in her cage, leave her on top of the frames so that they can acquaint themselves and get to know her.” Sometimes that simply doesn’t work because the bees may reject her pheromones. The larger the hive is, the harder it is to match a queen. “You come back the

RESTORE YOUR HOME TO PERFECTION

FUN FACT According to city code 18.80.030, buildings or hives for apiaries may not be closer than 75 feet to any neighboring residence.

next morning, and they’ve killed her. Bees are a lot like street gangs: The larger the group is, the more hostile they are to other outside sources,” Bill Johnson said. One common question he fields in the beekeeping community is: Do you just let those hostile ones die off? He doesn’t, citing he believes that goes against his “save the bees” message. “Why don’t you just divide them and requeen them?” he asked, rhetorically. Splitting the

Other local beekeepers who more recently joined the community said their fear of bees dissolved once they learned more about the insects. “You want to get away from it until you find out what they do and why they do it,” Thunderbird Farms resident Liza Williams said. “Then you change your entire perspective: Don’t kill that thing — that’s going to pollinate something to feed the human race.” Liza and her husband, Will Williams, are the owners of Teva Farms and are relatively new to beekeeping. They first put their two Flow Hives outside in March and have loved every second of it. “It’s fascinating to sit and watch bees, to learn about them and to continue to be part of their world and help steward them because they do their own thing in this form of intelligence

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mesquite, many bees came out to defend their hive, and a low humming buzz filled the air. Once the lid was removed, Bill Johnson took out a frame at a time to inspect the combs, pointing out what each frame contained: brood comb for raising bees, super comb for storing honey, and what he was looking for — the swarm cell. “A swarm cell is when the hive says ‘hey, we got too many bees in here, it’s time to split off’,” Bill Johnson said, his voice competing with the drone of the bees. In a controlled environment, like a beekeeper’s hive, that swarm can be moved to another bee box to house the new bees, but in the wild, “those are the swarms you see in the neighborhoods, on the trees, on the side of buildings,” he explained. At that stage, bees are loaded down with honey and pollen — the food they need to survive until they build their new hive. For situations like those, Bill Johnson is comfortable without a suit and just scoops up the bees by hand. He and wife Monica describe the feeling as “holding electricity.” The bees will either die off or find a suitable home. “They move into eaves of your house, underneath your storage shed, your doghouse, your barbeque, your composter,” Bill Johnson said. “Once they move in and start making comb, that becomes their home.” After Johnson moved the swarm cell to a new box, he placed it on top and left the bees to calm down. The bees would eventually begin filling the frames of that new box with more comb. Sweet rewards One thing most Maricopa beekeepers love just as much as saving the bees is the product they produce. It’s a sought-after ware many residents who know the beekeepers say they prefer over the store-bought stuff. Monica Johnson harvests the honey from beehives across the Valley. Each location produces honey with a different taste, color and consistency, as bees fly up to 3 miles to pollinate crops. Near the Hart farm, the bees tend to pollinate crops like cotton, alfalfa, mesquite and sunflowers, if the season is right. “Mesquite is darker honey,” Monica Johnson said. Motioning to a more golden nectar, she said: “That sunflower honey is my ticket. That stuff is sticky.” One of her favorites, however, came from a hive in Casa Grande. She’s not quite sure what contributed to it, a batch that stood out for her because of its unique flavor profile.

HOW DOES A BEE BECOME A QUEEN?

Sometimes workers choose the queen by feeding a young larva only royal jelly, but in beekeeping the beekeeper may select her instead. Either way, she only becomes queen if the workers affirm the choice by continuing her royal jelly diet.

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two, so they could borrow resources from each one if the other was struggling. That snowballed, and after finding a mentor of his own, Bill Johnson became a full-time beekeeper who does removals throughout the Valley. In the small groves around farmer Larry Hart’s properties in Hidden Valley sit dozens of stacks of the Johnsons’ boxed beehives, where he brings many of the rescued bees. Hart, who grew up in a beekeeping family, provided Bill Johnson access to his land for one small price. “When he found out that I was keeping bees, he says, ‘You know, I’ve got a thousand acres out here. You can put your bees anywhere you want to keep them,’” the “bee guy” recalled. “The only thing he asked in return for being able to use his property like that is his wife, Gwen, likes to put honey in her coffee every morning. All I have to do is keep him in honey, which is pretty easy to do.” The Johnsons frequently buzz about, performing constant maintenance on their many hives to help keep the bees healthy, prevent swarming and, of course, to collect the sweet fruits of their (and the bees’) labor. One such example occurred one early morning in late July, when Bill Johnson went with reporters to split a bee box into another because it was filled. He chooses early mornings because of the cool temperatures. Bill Johnson pulled up to a gathering of his beehives in an oasis under mesquite trees on the Hart farm and suited up before popping open the lid of one of his bee boxes. Before he had the opportunity to use his smoker filled with mulch

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Bill Johnson puts mulch mesquite in his smoker before headed to his beehives.

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HE DID HIS PART

end of the garden.”

Using the bees for pollination and collecting their honey for his company, Gatten’s Honey Farm, Gatten started removing bees for locals for free. His hive collection peaked at a total of 60. Unfortunately, in 2021 Gatten gave up his bees due to his age. “I couldn’t lift those smokers anymore ... I hated to give it up.”

Eugene Gatten, 85, is a former beekeeper and a Thunderbird Farms resident who first got into his hobby after struggling

to get his Maricopa garden producing.

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“I had a vegetable garden, and I wasn’t getting anything,” Gatten

said. “I got two hives and put them at the

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