‘Little Beehive’ Shop Opens At New Rochelle Train Station

From the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District: ‘Little Beehive’ Shop is the Buzz at The New Rochelle Train StationThe Little Beehive, a gift, accessory and novelty shop filled with scented candles, handmade soaps and other items to delight the senses recently celebrated its opening in an unusual place – one end of the brick New Rochelle train station building.

Where a commuter or visitor might expect to find a taxi dispatcher, they will instead enter a welcoming mini-emporium with a mild citrus scent and something interesting, fun or calming to look at on just about every inch of shelf and wall space.

“We fill the store with handmade, unique and well-designed items,” said Dawn-Marie Manwaring, a partner in the store. “We try to curate it in a way that is interesting to the customers. Our aim is to bring something different to the train station – something unexpected.”

Even a perfume oil, Kiori, is a local specialty, coming from Katonah.

Manwaring’s business partner in the store is Melanie Reichler, who creates handmade candles and soaps. The Little Beehive, which opened in early May, is the southern Westchester edition of the popular Beehive in Mount Kisco, a store that Manwaring has owned for five years. She sells Reichler’s wares there.

When Reichler learned that the space was available in the train station, she quickly took the opportunity to make it a new store. Manwaring agreed to be her business partner. A former New Rochelle resident, Reichler is also a vendor at the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District’s Grand Market on Saturdays from June through late autumn. Her soaps are honey-based and encase sections of loofah.

“Honey is really good for your skin,” Reichler explained.

The store adds to the growing opportunities in downtown New Rochelle to seek out funky, original gifts and other finds not seen in major cookie-cutter retail locations. The city’s core boasts thrift and consignment stores including the high-end Consign it on Main with its antiques and other great discoveries. The array of shops also includes the recently opened Only Mart with its “sushi socks” and other gifts, and two book stores – a Barnes & Noble and the used book store that operates in library lobby.

“The Little Beehive is yet another place in downtown New Rochelle where you can find gifts and accessories that you won’t find everywhere else,” said Ralph DiBart, executive director of the New Rochelle Business Improvement District. “It’s not just a great place for commuters to stop for a gift on the way home. It’s a unique store that’s worth making a special trip to visit.”

The station building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is along Station Plaza North between North Avenue and Memorial Highway.

Reichler will be the main staff at the Little Beehive, which is open Monday through Saturday. While the 160 square-foot shop is little more than a tenth the size of the original Beehive (now unofficially called the “Big Beehive”) it has room enough for a wide variety of items, and five windows that give it an airy feeling.

“When the sun is out, it’s really quite pleasant and sunny,” Reichler said.

The store carries the works of some 20 artists and craftspeople, most of them from the Westchester region. Reichler expects to expand the offerings to include more artists, but it already has a number of popular items. Manwaring pointed out coasters that include song lyrics people often get wrong, such as, “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”

“The ‘Mistaken Lyrics’ coasters? Huge!” she said.

The slingshots firing round sponge pellets are “so much fun for children and adults,” Manwaring said; and self-contained bags for growing cilantro, sweet pea and other plants are also popular, Riechler said. The merchandise also includes handmade pottery from David Hughes, who is on the faculty of the Katonah Arts Center. The Kiori Perfume Oil is a special touch. With notes of vanilla and patchouli, it is a blend of “only pure, essential plant-based oils known for thousands of years to be aphrodisiacs,” according to its website.

“It’s small-batch, it has a following, and people love it,” Manwaring said.

“We wanted to provide a place for emerging designers and makers to offer their creations,” Manwaring added. “The store is perfect for people who are looking for gifts, or maybe something for themselves, like a little accessory. Or maybe something for their kids.”

Follow Little Beehive and Beehive on social media at these addresses:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Photo courtesy of the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District