Local Business Focus: Misbeehaven Farm LLC

Would you knowingly take a job where your “employees” sting you, sometimes die on you, and take their sweet time making the product you depend on? For Aaron and Stacy Grimes of Misbeehaven Farm LLC, that’s daily life—and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Nestled on the border of Lyon and Storey Counties—technically in Storey and holds the title of first beekeepers in the county—this hardworking husband-and-wife team has been building their beekeeping business for nearly a decade. For Aaron, beekeeping was not just a career change; it was a lifeline when he could no longer keep his career as a truck driver because of a medical condition.

“I told my wife, I didn’t want to sit on my butt and do nothing, watch TV, so I watched some YouTube videos and I thought, ah, beekeeping,” he explained.

His other idea was tarantula breeding; however, Stacy quickly drew the line at hairy arachnids.

“Well, we’re not having those spiders in the house,” she laughed. “But I’m scared to death of bees and they know because they can smell your fear pheromone. I call it my chicken pheromone!”

Aaron started with just four hives, fumbling his way through that first year, learning quickly that beekeeping is about much more than buying bees and hoping for honey. It takes a lot of skill and patience. Today, he manages just under 100 colonies, placing hives at their place in the Dayton, Carson Valley, Carson City, and as far as Penn Valley, Calif. to give the bees access to diverse blooms throughout the year.

Beekeeping is far from easy. From moving hives and keeping bees alive to harvesting the honey and waiting months for infused flavors to develop, every jar on their table represents long hours of hard work. Most of the time the couple does everything themselves, by hand – working with a friend who has extraction equipment – but when they need extra help, their son and daughter will step in. And, throughout the process, the bees sometimes make it less-than-pleasant.

“All the time,” Aaron admitted when asked how often he gets stung. He recalled once lying inside a log to watch the bees with a flashlight. “It was super creepy and really cool at the same time. Then I got comfortable and laid on my veil, and they stung me in the face!”

Aaron also assembles “nucs” – a small nucleus colony for starter hives – and provides bee removals year-round, sometimes crawling into fallen logs or having to carefully remove a hive from inside a wall. Now that they work with national bee helplines, they receive even more calls from people across our state.

“One year I did 70-some calls, I travel all over Nevada for removals,” Aaron stated.

Over the years, the Grimes have not only produced pure honey but also launched a range of infused products and creative treats that keep customers coming back. Stacy shared how her experiments in the kitchen took off:

“It started for me with brownies, zucchini bread, banana bread…then I discovered jellies. I never made a jelly before in my life, and my first batch was raspberry—it was delicious.” From there, she expanded into jams, honey suckers, and an ever-growing list of infused honeys.

Their lineup is as inventive as it is tasty. From hibiscus and lavender to Madagascar vanilla and turmeric, a fiery habanero cinnamon blend to a garlic honey with chunks of actual garlic. And for spice lovers, Misbeehaven has ghost pepper, scorpion pepper and other spicy infusions great for pizza drizzle, marinades, and more. Plus, to get the flavor profile or color desired, infusions must sit for three, six, sometimes 12 months before they are ready.

Misbeehaven Farm is so proud of the products they offer and loves to provide customers with creative ideas about how to use each one – since the honey never goes bad, there is plenty of time to experiment with new ways to use your sweet concoction.

“The garlic honey is great with sourdough toast and parmesan cheese, or a garlic honey mustard chicken,” Stacy said. “I put the vanilla honey in my Greek yogurt…the cinnamon honey is amazing on chopped apples. And the habanero cinnamon is amazing on pancakes with peanut butter – it tastes like a little red hot, so it’s not crazy hot, but it is absolutely yummy.”

Beyond the flavor, honey comes with a reputation for health benefits. Stacy, who worked in nursing, has seen firsthand how it can support wellness.

“I had a lady tell me, she stopped going into her dermatologist and getting shots because the honey is helping her sinuses and her complexion,” Stacy explained. “And another gentleman came and said, ‘Thank you, my 13-year-old had acne so bad, but she takes a tablespoon in the morning, a tablespoon at night and her acne has cleared up.”

Aaron added, “Honey is so healthy because the bees are touching everything out here in life. From plants to car tires, everything, and they bring a little bit of it back to the hive. Then we eat a little bit of it…I haven’t eaten any regular candy or sugar in like five years.”

Despite the stings, setbacks, and sheer labor involved, the Grimes remain passionate about their work and committed to sharing it with the community. Misbeehaven Farm regularly attends local markets and fairs, sponsors events like Chili on the Comstock, and even visits local schools to teach kids about the importance of bees. They will be attending numerous holiday events around Northern Nevada and are working on getting online ordering setup from their website. However, customers can call (or text) anytime to place an order and find many permanent product locations listed on their website. They also invite you to visit their home and apiary at 144 Elizabeth Lane in Dayton – call or text ahead to ensure they are home!

As their business continues to grow, Misbeehaven Farm will continue to keep things local and fun. Whether you buy honey straight from their booths, pick up a jar at a regional store, or order direct and ship, every purchase supports not just a local business, but a story of resilience and creativity.

After all, Misbeehaven Farm started as a new path forward during a difficult time. Nearly 10 years later, it has become a sweet reminder of how passion and perseverance can create something worth buzzing about.

Visit misbeehavenfarm.com for a list of products, local retailers and recipe ideas. Call or text 775-815-8492 for order and removal inquires.

If you missed Misbeehaven Farm LLC at Dayton Valley Days, look for them at Handmade for the Holidays, Artisans Holiday Faire and other events throughout November and December.