As the weather warms up, our area’s pollinators are getting ready to work, and so are the owners of a new store that caters to bees and beekeepers.
DICKSON CITY, Pa. — Bees will soon be buzzing across Lackawanna County as the weather improves, and for the beekeepers in the northeast, they’ll need a place to stay stocked on supplies.
“In the northeast, we run what’s called a two-deep kind of box. A hive,” said Tom Dennis, Green Grove Bee Supply co-owner.
To help support local beekeepers and their hives, Tom Dennis and his wife, Patti, are getting ready to open Green Grove Bee Supply, a business that specializes in all things Bees.
“We’re trying to offer a local bee store that we can buy all the honey bee supplies for all the clubs and for anybody interested, to actually have pollination in their own gardens and around our house,” said Dennis.
The need for the store along Dewey Street in Dickson City started as a necessity for the Dennises and the hundreds of other hobbyists across the area.
They say the last supply store, which was in Luzerne County, closed roughly a year ago, leaving them struggling to find what they needed to tend to their buzzy friends.
“Well, when you only have to buy a couple of items, it’s quick to come in and just get the same amount like the smaller items without actually waiting for it for UPS or somebody to deliver it. It’s nice to actually be able to try something on or actually see, you know, put your hands on it,” Dennis explained.
Whether it’s bee protein or a smoking kit, Tom says that soon, shelves will be fully stocked so new and experienced apiculturists can start and maintain their hives. “Pollination in our area, smaller apple orchards. Most of your farmers have some hives in those areas.”
Creating an environment that’s good for the bees and maybe you, too.
“Well, the benefits of raw honey versus commercially purchased honey, has a lot of natural enzymes in it that they tell you that if you have an allergic reaction to a certain pollen in your area by eating local raw honey, supposedly by scientific research, is supposed to help offset that,” said Dennis.
Green Grove Bee Supply plans to open its doors to the public in the coming weeks.