Dickey Bee Honey’s retirement plans are bittersweet

At the end of October, Peter and Sandi Dickey will be retiring, as will their award-winning brand, Dickey Bee Honey.

This is actually a second retirement for fourth generation beekeeper Peter Dickey.

He left the company for the first time at the age of 18, having worked for his father’s beekeeping business since he was a child.

“I grew up with it,” he says. “When I was 10, I was mining in my father’s garage.

By the time he was a teenager and had his license, he was helping move bees to pollination – bringing beehives to orchards and agricultural crops that depend on pollinators. According to the Ontario government, bees are needed to generate nearly $ 900 million in crops in Ontario each year.

He then left the company to work in another profession. It wasn’t until his early fifties and after meeting Sandi that he returned to beekeeping.

“I needed a career change,” Dickey says, “and I’ve always had an interest in beekeeping.”

His sick father was no longer able to manage the hives he still had. In 2002, Peter brought his father’s bees to Innisfil and started Dickey Bee Honey.

From these 13 or 14 original beehives, the company took off.

“Every year, there were more and more of us. More and more everything – bees, hives, products, demand.

Ultimately, Dickey Bee Honey worked at three sites in Innisfil, including a dairy leased from a local farmer. It was then that the Dickeys took the next logical step and built their Honey House in 2012 – a 4,000 square foot all-in-one production, packaging and storage facility, retail store, museum and educational center.

They have expanded their product lines, to include not only beekeeping supplies and 100% pure liquid and creamy honey, honey butter, comb honey, royal jelly and bee pollen, but also a range of dressings, sauces and jams, and health and beauty products. like honey-based hand creams, honey soap, lip balm, and hand sanitizer.

The number of beehives has grown to over 600. The company has achieved CFIA certification, extending to at least 100 retail outlets, from grocery stores to farmers’ markets.

And Dickey Bee Honey has won awards, recognizing both quality and hard work – from Grand Champion and First Honey Exhibitor at the 2013 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, to the South Simcoe Business Excellence Award for Best Farming Business.

At the Honey House, the Dickeys organized tours for the public and for schoolchildren; organized fundraisers for the Rotary Club of Innisfil, public events like the annual visit of Santa Claus, and taught beekeeping and beeswax candle-making classes.

They have helped educate and inspire a new generation of beekeepers.

But the pace was continuous. It was, says Sandi, “24/7”.

“We had to slow down,” Peter admits.

Retirement was “still on our plans,” they note, but it was COVID-19 that changed the schedule.

They had purchased 44 acres of land north and west of Alliston, with the intention of eventually building a cottage or retirement home. “COVID kind of made you rethink,” says Sandi – especially when, in April 2020, Peter lost a close friend to COVID.

“We had to reassess what’s important,” says Sandi. “We have some pretty awesome grandchildren. We need to spend more time with them.

They made the decision to retire this year, selling their Innisfil home and the Honey House – but not the Dickey Bee Honey brand. It will be retirement with them.

“We are very proud of what we have accomplished,” says Sandi. “We will leave with our heads held high. “

She is particularly proud of the Maison du Miel and its educational role. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” she notes, and seeing visitors and children come away with a new understanding and appreciation for bees and honey production has been particularly satisfying.

The property located at 4031 Innisfil Line 3, near Cookstown, has now been sold to new owners, Mike and Melissa Derkinderen, owners of Derkwood Beekeeping Supplies.

As of October 31, Dickey Bee Honey will cease operations. The retail store will close, along with all online sales. The remaining stock will go to retail outlets, to ensure supplies for the next holiday season – although some items are already sold out – and Derkwood Beekeeping has purchased the rest of the beekeeping equipment.

And Peter and Sandi Dickey will be retiring to their new home.

In the new house, Peter built a workshop for his retirement plans. He plans to conserve the antiques that currently fill the Dickey Bee Museum and will keep his beehives in Innisfil over the winter, before deciding on a next step.

He also plans to continue beekeeping, but “as a hobby only. I will always have beehives – strictly for our own use.

“Don’t worry about what Sandi is going to do,” Sandi says. “Golf, reading, gardening, traveling… and lots of time with the grandchildren. She adds, “I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to wake up and not go through a list.”

“I was pretty hesitant a year ago, two years ago,” admits Peter, when they began to seriously consider retirement. “We built it, we nurtured it, it’s in our blood,” he says; it’s hard to get away.

The hardest part? Say goodbye to staff and loyal customers.

The staff have been a team “from day one,” they say, working together on an “assembly line” to fulfill orders for Christmas gift baskets, preparing for the annual open house at the Honey House and celebrating. together the birthday lunches.

Last month, the Dickeys hosted a ‘T-shirt Party’, giving each staff member a personalized t-shirt printed with their favorite saying, from ‘This is what it is’ to’ Do you need of me to work Thursday? “

There was a lot of laughter, and now, with Dickey Bee Honey shutting down, a lot of tears.

“It was a wonderful hike. How lucky and how lucky we were, ”says Sandi. “We’ve been good to the community, but the community has been great to us. Our clients are simply phenomenal.

“You build it and they will come,” says Peter, of the model that drove Dickey Bee Honey to his success. “People love honey.”