Across the nation, Americans are embracing bees by becoming hobby beekeepers. As NPR recently reported, there are about 100,000 backyard bee lovers across the nation. Denver's ritzy Brown Palace Hotel is among them. The downtown institution has launched a Bee Royalty Initiative to "nurture a small colony of rooftop bees that will produce delicious honey to be served at our Afternoon Tea and in signature menu items," according to the hotel's website. As for the worker bees, each will be "treated like a queen," receiving the "royal treatment" from the palace's dedicated beekeeper, Matt Kentner. Westword recently caught up with Kentner, a local beekeeper who approached the hotel's green committee with the proposal. "We loved the idea and felt like it was really important for us to lead this kind of effort in Denver," says Shannon Dexheimer-Hulsey, public relations director for the hotel. "Our hope is to grow the initiative and add more hives so that we can continue to integrate the honey into our cooking and, eventually, even spa treatments."