Saturday Business Spotlight: The Bee
[October 25, 2025] When
you first walk into The Bee on 121 S. Kickapoo Street in Lincoln, you
see a variety of plants on each side. Going further into this bright and
cheery storefront, you will find many other products including clothing,
jewelry, self-care products, magnets and stickers.
Owner Melanie
Welch originally opened The Bee as a health and wellness business with
plans to offer massage therapy, yoga and counseling services. However,
the pandemic shut down that business and left Welch working online only
via a telehealth program.
During the pandemic, Welch started doing pop-ups and people were lined
up outside the door as only a few people could come in at a time. She
wanted to open a boutique. The business kept expanding and November 12,
2020, Welch opened The Bee at 514 Pekin Street in Lincoln in the former
Apple Dental Building later moving to its current location on Kickapoo
Street.
Welch said she chose the name because the word Bee is sometimes used for
counseling as in “bee healed.” The shelves in front of the store even
look like a hive.
Clothes are the
top selling item followed by plants. Welch said during the pandemic, it
was plants that were her top selling item, but she started selling a lot
more clothes as everything expanded.
There are also
lots of gift items, jewelry, books, self-care items like teas, lotions
and lip balms. A section in the middle of the store has magnets and
stickers with funny sayings on them.
If you need help finding anything, you can talk to employee, Alexis
Younger, who is there every day and knowledgeable about the products.
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Welch’s favorite
part of running The Bee is connecting with the community. As a mental
health counselor, Welch runs a private practice in Decatur during the
week and said the private practice can be isolating. Welch said The Bee
is very social and considers shopping a sport.
Every year, Welch
said she overbuys sweaters in December, so she is learning when to stop
because of having more products than the store needs.
There are challenges the boutique has faced over the years. For example,
Welch said shipping can take a while. Tariffs present another challenge.
She used to get the magnets from Canada, but they have become too
expensive. Some companies have built warehouses to plan, but there are a
lot of unknowns.
Something Welch
has learned to do is pivot. She said pivoting is key so you can get over
hurdles. Welch has found someone in Atlanta, Illinois that makes cement
pots. Finding local makers for products helps keep costs down.
Welch’s advice to those who want to open a business is that you have so
many different angles to pursue and need to make it truly yours.
Marketing, networking and events are important, too. Events like retail
therapy shopping days offer something for the community and beyond.
The Bee will be participating in small business Saturday on Saturday,
November 29. Welch said the next retail therapy day will be Saturday,
December 6 and people will get a free wrapped gift with a purchase at
participating stores.
Come on into The Bee and check out what they have. With such variety of
products, you are likely to find something.
[Angela Reiners] |
