How did Honeybee Coffee get to the brink? Here's the brand's 10-year history in Knoxville

Just three weeks ago, three Honeybee Coffee shops in Knoxville were open with little sign to customers of the internal tensions brewing. Now, only one Honeybee location in Knoxville is open − under limited hours − and the brand is in danger of not surviving a flood of negative attention online.

Among the first signs of big changes was a wave of mass marketing texts to customers, littered with grammatical errors and corporate buzzwords under the leadership of new majority owner Aaron Hensley.

Loyal customers began taking notice and, as more information was unearthed from behind the scenes, the community became invested in the brand's future and where the story would go next.

After all, this isn't just any coffee shop. It's a Knoxville fixture with multiple locations and a history that dates back to 2014:

• 2014 - Honeybee Coffee begins serving coffee out of a trailer in downtown Knoxville and at local events.
• Jan. 10, 2017 - Norris Hill opens Honeybee's first permanent location at 700 Sevier Ave. in South Knoxville. (The location is the only Knoxville store still open now as Hill determines the future of the brand.) The West Knoxville store on Kingston Pike opens a few weeks later in 2017.
• May 26, 2021 - Honeybee opens a store in West Town Mall, competing directly with Starbucks.
• April 2022 - Honeybee debuts its new brewery at the West Knoxville location after months of setting up. The company's name is changed to Honeybee Coffee & Brewery. Steve Dedman, husband of Knox News visuals editor Jennifer Dedman, serves as head brewer. Dedman is no longer involved with the company and has been excluded from the newsroom's coverage of the company.
• Oct. 20, 2023 - SmashCity Knoxville brings its burgers to Honeybee's West Knoxville location but stays only a few months.
• February 2024 - Hill and Hensley sign a letter of intent outlining a sale to Hensley for 80% ownership and control of Honeybee, Hill said. A driving factor in the deal was Honeybee's high level of debt, which Hensley said he could reduce.
• June 14, 2024 - Honeybee, rebranded as "Honeybee USA," begins sending out a flood of promotional texts and emails offering customers a $200 gift card for only $100.
• June 18, 2024 - A Facebook post from Honeybee USA announces the company will move away from tips on a path toward better customer service.
• June 21, 2024 - Most of the remaining Honeybee staff members quit in a "mass exodus," former interim general manager Andres Marquez says.
• June 24, 2024 - Hensley writes a Facebook post announcing the closure of the West Town Mall and West Knoxville locations, saying they will come back "better and bolder" on July 16.
• June 25, 2024 - Hensley agrees to an interview with Knox News, in which he lays out his plan to franchise Honeybee, first across the Southeast. Hensley says there were "detractors" at the company that hindered his plans for growth. After Hill texts Hensley about the negative attention Honeybee is receiving online and anonymous allegations of Hensley's mistreatment of staff, Hensley texts he is done with the company. He does not provide details about his exit plan.
• June 26, 2024 - Hensley's phone number is disconnected and he does not respond to multiple attempts at contact.
• June 28, 2024 - Hill says he is working to save the brand with the help of other business owners but declines to comment further on the deal he made with Hensley as he consults with lawyers.

As previously reported by Knox News, Hensley made offers to other Knoxville small businesses with promises to help them grow before he landed a deal to become majority owner of Honeybee.

Honeybee employees say it has been a while since they have seen Hensley, who markets himself as a business coach, investor and entrepreneur.

“My hope is that the ethos of what Honeybee has been in this community will not go away,” Hill told Knox News on June 28.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com .

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How did Honeybee Coffee get to the brink? Here's the brand's 10-year history in Knoxville