Gourmet Honey Condiments and Confections Mark New Pitstop on the Brew Ridge Trail
Nelson County, VA: Local online retailer, Love of Honey, is celebrating their new shop in Arrington with a grand opening event on July 30, 2022. Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Noon, visitors can explore hundreds of honey-based treats produced on-site and enjoy tastings of creamed honey, confections, and more until 4:00 PM.
While Love of Honey’s retail location is new to Nelson County, the business has been popular with internet shoppers since 2020. Owner George Hatchell, a former photographer turned professional beekeeper, attributes the launch of the business and much of its growing success on the COVID-19 pandemic. “When the world stopped, I suddenly had time to play with new ideas. I published a Kickstarter campaign for the equipment to produce chocolate-covered honey and the response was so overwhelming that I knew I was on the right track,” George said.
Love of Honey’s menu expanded, and its online popularity made it tough to keep up with demand. George knew that he needed to move out of the confined kitchen space where he started and find a location roomy enough to bring in more helping hands. With his more than twenty years of beekeeping experience telling him that the hives would thrive in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, George’s search ultimately led to the former Thai Siam Restaurant space on Tye Brook Highway. “The place had once been an apple warehouse, so I found the perfect combination of commercial kitchens, a storefront, and plenty of room for storage — with a gorgeous view!”
The move to the new location has proved vital to Love of Honey’s increased production, and George’s prediction that the bee farm would be happy and thriving in the hills was a solid one. With the bees working hard to produce more honey, and more kitchen space to create its delicious goods, Love of Honey now turns out complete collections of chocolates, fudge, honey-nut butters, creamed honeys, and honey from a variety of nectar sources. There’s even a Thai Honey Curry marinade among the shelves that pays homage to the building’s previous occupants.
As a tribute to their new home in the Blue Ridge, George and his bees even teamed up to create Nelson County Harvest Fudge —a treat that features local apples and, of course, honey.
Love of Honey opens with a welcome party at 12:00 PM on Saturday, July 30. After 4:00 PM, visitors can continue the festivities at neighboring Blue Mountain Barrel House and enjoy live music from Dead Letter Officers, a band specializing in nostalgic performances of R.E.M. classics.
