The Honey Pot on Main, located in the former Blue Ridge Furniture building, is Stuart’s newest business The new business features a variety of items, including Christian books.
Sheree Nickelston, the owner, said opening a Christian bookstore is something she’s always wanted to do.
“When I found out the store was coming open” for purchase “I prayed about it and asked the Lord for confirmation if that was his will of what he wanted me to do,” she said. “I was given confirmation three times.”
Store Manager David Clifton said the Honey Pot also purchased Marilyn’s, a floral business when the owner of that business retired. The purchase was finalized on February 15.
“All of her florist supplies and everything is here now, and we are now the florist in Stuart,” he said.
Clifton said the business will also continue with the tanning beds it inherited from its predecessor.
“We didn’t know if the flower deal was going to go through or not, and it was a way to generate some income to kind of help get the bookstore up and running,” he said.
The store has five tanning beds.
“Our longest beds are 20 minutes, our shortest one is eight minutes,” he said.
The store offers unlimited sessions for $49 per month or $5 a session.
“It’s unique,” he said, laughing.
Clifton said the store will have books by 10 to 12 different Christian authors and all the different versions of the Bible.
“Right now, it’s just self-help type books, building your Christian faith, and that type of stuff,” he said. “I haven’t looked into the nonfiction or fiction, or anything like that. It may come in the future, but for right now we’re just kind of sticking with what we know.”
In the future, the store hopes to include an area where local churches can come in and hold Bible study sessions.
“You can either go across the street and get you a cup of coffee or we’ll have complimentary coffee here for those that want it,” he said.
Nickleston said she prayed about the name a lot.
“I kept thinking and I’d just come up with different names and none of them seemed to fit. One day, a honey pot popped into my mind, and I was like ‘there’s the name,’” she said.
Nickleston said she then looked in the Bible and found scriptures that had honey in them. She chose Psalm 119:103 – “how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth,” and put it on the bottom of the store’s window.
While the store is open, Clifton said a date for the official grand opening has not been decided on.
“We have a few more cosmetic things they want to do with the building, so we haven’t really got a concrete date in mind yet,” he said.
For more information, go to Facebook.com/TheHoneyPotonMain, email books@thehoneypotonmain.com, or call (276) 693-6019.