By Kate Oczypok
Steve Ryle has been a beekeeper for just eight years. He took over Tackett’s Mill’s The Bee Store from its previous owner right around that time. Back then, the store was in a much smaller space. Now, it has plenty of room to sell more than just beekeeping supplies. Stopping in, customers are often surprised to find soaps, lip balms, candles, creams, and more.
“The bee store was born out of a kind of necessity, we needed it in this area,” Ryle said. There are little beekeeping supply stores in the area, with the nearest one about an hour’s drive away. “For the number of beekeepers in this area, [the previous owner] wanted to open something closer to the D.C. metro area.”
Below, we talk to Ryle about what first inspired him to get into beekeeping, what it’s like working alongside his wife, who is co-owner of the store, how he manages a full-time job, and more.
Steve Ryle. Owner of the Bee Store
Kate: Is there on-site beekeeping at The Bee Store?
Steve : We keep an observation hive in the store, so we have a live hive. We don’t open it up unless we
must, if there’s something serious that needs to be addressed—that’s usually after hours. We
just opened it up recently, as there was a pest inside that had to get out. We drew a crowd that
day, and we kept everybody across the street, but lots of people came out because most have
seen the hive in store but never saw us working on it.
Kate: What sort of educational programs do you offer?
Steve: People just kind of stumble across us. We get a lot of interest from people who want to become beekeepers, so one of the things we’re trying to get set back up are beekeeping courses. It’s the educational part that we really push here. The observation hive often brings in Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, as well as small classrooms. Parents are just enthralled. It’s really the curiosity that keeps people coming back—they want to see the development of the hive and whatever else we have in store.
Kate: Who or what inspired you to first get into beekeeping?
Steve : I never thought that this was something I would ever venture down. It’s not a path I ever really intended. My wife is a veterinarian, and veterinarians, along with the USDA, are the only ones that can treat bees with antibiotics for specific diseases, because bees are classified as livestock in the U.S., since they produce honey for human consumption.
Anyway, my wife went to a veterinary conference eight years ago and came back asking me what I thought about bees. I said I know I have a good life insurance policy, but I didn’t think you were really looking to collect on it! So, she started telling me about it, and I eventually said I’d maybe look into it. I started watching videos and reading about them and it just kind of hooked me.
I dabbled in it and didn’t do well my first year. That’s when I discovered there’s a whole community of beekeepers across the country, almost globally. Prince William County, the county I live in, has a Beekeepers Association, so I joined them. That’s when I found out about The Bee Store, which had just opened. The previous owner had offered beginners classes and that’s where I learned things you just cannot learn on YouTube, Google, or even in a book.
Now owning the store, there’s a sense of glee when you can teach a beekeeper that’s been doing this their whole lives something new. The camaraderie is really strong. I wish I started this 20 or 30 years ago, it’s the most relaxing hobby I’ve ever had.
Kate: What’s it like working with your wife as co-owners?
Steve : She watches the books, and I hear about it. She keeps me on the straight and narrow.
Kate: What’s it like working full-time at Northrop Grumman and owning The Bee Store?
Steve The beauty is, I work remotely with Northrop, so I work at any building that I into, but for the most part I work from home. When we bought The Bee Store, we had one month left on the lease, so we went back to Tackett’s Mill and said if we were to sign a five-year lease, we’d like something we can grow in to.
The original shop the store was in was cute, kind of like a little old farm. Four doors down, they had a space that was 1,000 square feet larger. It also had an office, kitchenette, and bathrooms. I converted the office into my Northrop office. I’m not here every day, but this is where I go if I have a lot of conference calls or have to get a project knocked out, but most of the time I’m at home. When I come here, it’s when I have a fairly light schedule.
Kate: What is one aspect of beekeeping that people may be surprised about?
Steve :That it’s not violence and chaos. When you customers first walk into the store, they are led to the observation hive. We get a lot of questions. We start with the beehive and show customers that this is how calm bees really are. The bees you see in your yard are technically geriatric. They’re the ones going out and looking for food. They’re bees that will get in your face, but most of the time it’s accidental. When you start swatting, that’s when the violence happens.
You can walk up to a hive in your yard and see thousands of bees all around it, but they’re not going to come at you most of the time. As long as you don’t get too close, you can stand near a hive for a long time and just watch the bees. You don’t need a suit or protective gear. Now, I do wear my gear because I don’t like needles. I don’t like getting stung.
Kate: Do you think Tackett’s Mill provides a sense of community, and how so?
Steve : We’ve been here for a little over two years now, and I have to say I’m impressed with them. They’re in a transition, and becoming more community-oriented. They’re definitely starting to kind of showcase the shops, the people and what they do. They’re starting to bring their businesses more to the front and center.
Kate: Do you have any favorite shops or restaurants in Tackett’s Mill that you frequent?
Steve There’s Akida Coffeehouse—we’ve developed a really good rapport. We harvest our own honey in-store, so we bottle everything here and sell it, and Akida now sells our honey too. We needed a coffeehouse; we needed something more than Dunkin’.
There’s also Bourbon & Fig, which is a newer, really good restaurant. They just opened up and my wife and I went there for the first time and met the owner.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity. You can learn more Steve and The Bee Store by visiting their website here.