Buzzing With Success | T Creek Bees & Honey
By JENNIFER LECLAIR | Photos by MELVINA TAYLOR
To say that Tim Urich is a busy man would be an understatement. By day he serves the community as a full-time middle school principal, but during evenings, weekends and breaks from school he operates T Creek Bees & Honey, a business decades in the making.
“Beekeeping absolutely began as a hobby,” Tim said. “My grandfather delivered hives to my father in 1986, and beekeeping became part of our family rhythm. After a 20-year break, I reconnected with that tradition. What started as a peaceful after-school activity quickly became a passion.”
SWEET BEGINNINGS
Named for the Tecumseh Creek that runs through his family’s property, T Creek Bees & Honey aims to honor its rural roots and do right by the land, water and pollinators native to the area.
Tim takes the science behind beekeeping seriously and is eager to share what sets T Creek apart from the competition. Honey is one of the top three most adulterated products in the world, he says, meaning inexpensive foreign honey is sometimes blended with syrups and sweeteners to stretch the product for economic gain. The best way to guarantee you’re buying natural raw honey is to source from a beekeeper in your area.
“We prioritize quality, consistency and transparency,” said Tim, who manages a total of 350 hives. “Our honey isn’t pasteurized or ultra-filtered, and every bottle comes from hives we manage ourselves right here in southeast Shawnee County.”
At T Creek, the bottling process begins by moving barrels of honey into a production room, where the honey is gently warmed to dissolve any natural crystals that formed. Next, it’s pumped into a stainless steel tank, passing first through a strainer to remove wax particles and other debris remaining from extraction. It is then bottled, capped and labeled before the finished product is boxed for distribution.
Tim credits several others — including his wife, father and some of his students — for supporting the company’s daily operations.
“I have six part-time youth workers, all Shawnee Heights students who live within two miles of our commercial building,” Tim said. “When someone loses interest or gets too busy with school, I simply have the current workers recommend a friend.”
In fact, he says his ability to connect students to his business has helped him out twofold. Not only does he benefit from the part-time labor and assistance with bottling and apiary work, but he relishes the opportunity to teach students a trade and open their eyes to small business and agricultural skills.
Students learn how to run a honey packing line with bottlers and automated labelers, work as a team and problem-solve, follow food-safe practices, prep orders for customers, harvest and extract honey, and understand the basics of beekeeping.
“Over time, the students become independent and self-directed,” Tim said. “The bottling crew often works without me present. I’ve seen them grow in both skill and confidence, and I know their parents value the opportunity.”
FROM HOBBY TO HARVEST
Growth has been steady since late 2020 when T Creek officially became a business. While Tim began keeping bees again as a hobby in 2018, once he began producing more honey than he could use or gift, it was easy to see the beginnings of a possible business venture on his hands.
He began selling raw honey to family and friends while researching laws and licensing around food sales, ultimately becoming a licensed food processor with his own commercial kitchen. He eventually expanded his business to include wholesale accounts, putting his products on shelves in front of an ever-growing community of customers.
“I’ve focused on building trust with local retailers by being responsive, consistent and easy to work with,” Tim said. “Milk & Honey Coffee Co. and Leonard Meat were my first two wholesale accounts. They trust the quality of our product, and that’s helped us grow.”
He says it’s been rewarding to see T Creek products on store shelves and build a loyal customer base in Topeka, adding that his relationships with area business owners have grown into genuine friendships over the years — an indicator that local businesses succeed better when they work together.
T Creek’s honey products are now available at more than 20 locations across the Topeka area. Tim says they also sell in bulk to bakeries, mead makers and distillers.
“I remember the manager of Leonard Meat meeting with me early on to discuss our wholesale account,” he said. “She took the time to work out wholesale and retail prices that would give us both the margin we would need to be successful. I’ve really met so many interesting and supportive business owners over the years, many of whom have become personal friends.”
T Creek even sells to local beekeepers, who resell the honey under their own local labels.
“There are a few large beekeepers in the area, and I’ve considered partnering with them on a regional honey label that could leverage our facilities alongside their production capacity,” Tim said.
BALANCING TWO WORLDS
Tim says three things help him balance his honey business with his job in school administration: time management, passion and a strong support system. While his roles as principal and beekeeper might seem vastly different, they feed different parts of who he is.
“Beekeeping offers me a sense of peace and physical labor that contrasts with the fast pace of school leadership,” Tim said. “But there are a number of surprising parallels between the two. Both require careful observation, problem solving and systems thinking. Just like managing a hive, a school requires support structures, healthy environments and leadership that understands when to intervene and when to let things evolve.”
Tim loves watching the bees work, learning from nature and having the opportunity to share that with his students. He is especially excited about several promising young beekeepers he’s mentoring — so much so that he’s considering expanding from 350 to 500 colonies. He’s also interested in working with other large beekeeping operations in the area, sharing labor and facilities to increase production, and maybe even partnering on a regional honey label.
For now, Tim encourages honey consumers to buy from local beekeepers rather than settle for national store brands. He says that raw honey’s antioxidants, enzymes and natural antibacterial properties have been claimed to not only provide a number of health benefits, but can also reportedly soothe sore throats, defend against seasonal allergies and provide immune system support.
“The most popular product we sell is our delicious raw honey, but customers also enjoy our creamed honey lineup consisting of flavors like cinnamon, lemon and chocolate,” Tim said. “Hot honey is also popular with honey lovers who use it on pizza, wings, sandwiches and more.”
The response from local customers has made Tim optimistic about the future of local agriculture.
“A trio of raw honey, creamed honey and hot honey would make an excellent gift,” he added. “I’m grateful to live in a place where small agriculture and community businesses are valued, and I hope our story encourages others to get closer to the food we eat and the people who produce it.”
