The Bee Hive Gift Shop, located in Midtown Village at 41 South Main St., saw a tumultuous time throughout the pandemic. However, owner JoAnne Zarick persevered and got by with a little help from her “wonderful employees,” as she said with a smile, and some promotion from the Diamond City Partnership.
Ryan Evans | Times Leader
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In honor of the approaching holidays, The Bee Hive will be offering 20% off all regularly priced items for the week of Dec. 5, as well as 10% off for budget conscious local college students looking to bring home gifts between semesters. But that’s not all: Check their Facebook for some more, yet-to-be unveiled specials and sales leading up to Christmas.
Ryan Evans | Times Leader
In addition to the specials and sales, Zarick says, ‘we’re a one-stop shop,’ and to the delight of those who abhor gift wrapping, they also offer the service completely free.
Ryan Evans | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — After a year and a half of uncertainty for everyone, one downtown Wilkes-Barre business is eager to give holiday shoppers something to buzz about.
The Bee Hive Gift Shop, located in Midtown Village at 41 South Main Street, has been in business for over a decade now. JoAnne Zarick purchased it almost four years ago from former Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas Leighton’s wife, Patty. Little did she know, like so many other small business owners, she was in for a tumultuous time during the pandemic.
Zarick persevered and got by with a little help from her, “wonderful employees,” as she said with a smile, and some promotion from the Diamond City Partnership.
“We just do not have the foot traffic, with people not coming back to the workforce and with COVID, people just aren’t coming out,” but she says DCP-sponsored events like the recent Small Business Saturday have been “crucial.”
“We have our regular customers,” she says, “but we need those events. And they’re just so great to work with because you do feel like it’s a partnership.”
Zarick even mentioned that members “come and check on you” in order to see how business owners are doing and what else can be done.
With things getting back to at least some sense of normalcy, the quaint gift shop is offering holiday sales and student discounts.
The Bee Hive will be offering 20% off all regularly priced items for the week of December 5th. Budget conscious college folks looking to bring home gifts between semesters can see 10% off with proper Wilkes, King’s, or LCCC identification. As if that’s not enough to be excited about, the shop will be offering yet-to-be unveiled specials until Santa makes his rounds. And, for those of you who abhor gift-wrapping, shop staff will do the wrapping for you — completely gratis, of course.
Oh, and speaking of those events JoAnne looks forward to, she’s delighted to see what the DCP is doing for downtown. “They’re all so interested in long-term, not just the events. They’re looking to make everybody in Wilkes-Barre, and Wilkes-Barre as a city, come back.”
If giving back doesn’t summarize the true meaning of “holiday spirit,” what does?
The Bee Hive is currently on holiday hours, operating seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to their Facebook page.