After serving as an Officer in the Navy for five years, Frank Golbeck left the military to pursue his passion of creating high quality mead (honey wine). As he explains, “I wanted to do something that made a small part of the earth more bountiful. I wanted to do something that contributed to the happiness of others.
I realized that I would be at my happiest farming, and sharing the goodness of good work on good land with the people I was lucky enough to encounter.”
In 2010, Frank and his two business partners, one of whom is also a veteran, started Golden Coast Mead in San Diego, CA. Golden Coast Mead has grown by leaps and bounds, and the demand for Frank’s mead have been increasing exponentially. In the beginning of 2013, Golden Coast Mead expanded into their own production facility, further increasing the amount of mead produced. Frank and his partners source all of their honey from CA farmers and in the future hope to source all of their honey from San Diego based farmers.
In the winter of 2011, Frank received a Bon Appétit Good Food Fellowship through the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund. The Fellowship Fund helped him start 23 beehives on family property, allowing Frank and his partners to create estate mead. Frank’s family has farmed for many years and his grandfather taught him to make mead as a young adult. As a Bon Appétit Good Food Fellow, Frank is carrying on his family’s tradition, and serving as an example for other veterans who strive to be small business owners.
