How would you like to put aside your woes for a while and, alone or with a friend, do some exploring in North Vancouver’s Shipyards? If you do, you’ll soon find yourself following a sweet aroma right to the door of Main Street Honey Shoppe, a local business born in 2013 that moved to The Shipyards in October 2019.
“We offer the best selection of high-quality, completely natural honeybee products you could find,” said owner and chief honey officer Tony Lovse.
Despite his 20 years in the honey business, and his beemaster certificate from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Simon Fraser University, Lovse says he still considers himself more of a bee-keeping hobbyist.
“Beekeeping attracts people from all walks of life,” he explained.
He says a master beekeeper usually has several years of experience, is always passionate about the bees – their continuing health and environment – and has a drive to learn more about, and from, the bees themselves.
Lovse, whose own enthusiasm for his work spills over as he talks, was quick to mention another Honey Shoppe essential:
“Along with our Queen Bee [wife Kandy Lovse] we have a fantastic staff, all of whom have extensive knowledge of honeybee products,” he said.
“Some of them help look after the beehives we have at Van Dusen Gardens and Queen Elizabeth Park over in Vancouver, and can answer most of the beekeeping questions our customers ask.”
Many of those questions might arise when you walk through the Honey Shoppe doors for the first time and discover that a simple discussion about bees and the honey they produce touches only the surface of a wide-ranging, fascinating topic.
Most people know about the importance of honeybees as pollinators, but what’s not always common knowledge is the extent of that activity.
“Like other bee varieties, honeybees pollinate food crops that represent over one-third of the healthy food items we eat,” Lovse explained.
He says the other major importance of quality bee products is the contribution they can make to our overall health.
“Bee pollen for the relief of hay fever allergies; Propolis (a resin-based bee product) that enhances our immune systems; wound care treatments using medical-grade honey, the list goes on,” Lovse said.
Most startling of all for those not already aware, is that muscle and joint pain can be relieved with bee venom ointments.
And if all of that hasn’t yet persuaded you to go exploring, how about knowing that the enticing blend of aromas from honey and beeswax permeates the area and that, for added sensory pleasure, you can indulge in honey-tasting the wide selection offered at the Honey Shoppe.
To learn more about exploring Honey Shoppe at The Shipyards, visit the store’s website.
This article originally appeared in the Explore the Shore special feature section in the July 7, 2021 edition of the North Shore News.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
