July 27, 2024

By Erik Messner
Messner Bee Farm

When I was 12 years old, I begged my family for my first real bicycle, and that summer I would meet a friend every day in downtown Lee’s Summit to go biking around the city.

That was 1994, and it was a very different Downtown. I remember a few staple businesses – Whistlestop, KD’s Books, Owen Lumber…but most businesses that stood then are not there anymore. I was just a kid; I didn’t have any money anyways, so I spent most of my time exploring back alleys, storm drains, and learning about the inner workings of the City while having fun with my friends (of course we didn’t have cell phones back then).

Over the years, during the Downtown festivals, I would occasionally run into a girl named Rachael, who I knew from school. She lived across the train tracks, and we had some friends in common. Maybe the adults in my life tried to make me understand then, but at the time, I had no idea how Time would take familiar landmarks and experiences and slowly change them into a world that was totally different, and wonderfully unrecognizable.

Rachael and I would eventually get married, get professional jobs, and have two amazing kids. We also started keeping bees as a hobby, making products from the bee’s harvest, and selling our products around KC. We named that business Messner Bee Farm. That started 11 years ago, and now we are opening a new retail store together in the very same Downtown Lee’s Summit that served as the backdrop for so many of our memories growing up.

We’ve been keeping bees now for 13 years. Messner Bee Farm sells local raw honey, infused flavors of honey like hot honey and lavender elderberry. We also sell beeswax lip balm, candles, solid scents, and apparel, jewelry, and all sorts of fun trinkets for the honeybee enthusiasts in your life. Rachael and I and our amazing staff have fun creating and curating products that bring joy to our exceptional customers!

The Grand Opening of our new store will be on Saturday, August 3rd, at 26 SE 3rd Street (where Cameron’s Home Furnishings used to be). We would be honored if you would bring family and friends to come celebrate this labor of love with us!

Part of me wishes I could go back and visit that younger version of myself and show him a vision of where we would end up, I’d love to see his reaction. It’s a very different Lee’s Summit than it was when I left for college. I know that all of the wonderful new amenities, art and events that are part of Downtown today are due to the hard work and dedication of many people who devoted themselves to this city over the last 30 years. Already we’ve been awed by the warm welcome and helpful input from many of the small business owners that have helped make this neighborhood what it is today. We can’t wait to be a part of this amazing community!