Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — After finding out that many don’t know where or when their next meal will come from, following the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) crisis, Rachael Heiner and Jamie Dyer of The Bees Knees Lemonade are stepping up to donate their proceeds at an upcoming Dripping Springs Farmers Market.
The lemonade stand started in April of this year, when the two stay-at-home moms wanted a creativity outlet and way to be around the local community, while also having the extra time to spend together as best friends.
“I love that we’ve put so much of who are into every detail of our business: our two lemons in the logo, flavors inspired by our kids or where we are from [and] ingredients we feel good about,” Dyer said. “Even our process of pressing and making our lemonades in front of our customers while we chat speaks to our love of connection and community.”
“I feel like it’s this very natural way to engage and bring light to the people we are around. To show love, kindness [and] feed people. We’ve also grown so much together as friends, as moms, as wives,” Heiner added. “Our families are so supportive, even though you’d think that because we are spending so much time away, they may be frustrated by that.”
Choosing to do lemonade for their business seemed like one of the easiest options that they could do, with opting for quality ingredients, such as organic cane sugar, and no dyes or artificial preservatives. The concept around The Bee’s Knees Lemonade — named after the coined term of being the best — is specialty lemonades and limeades, with a rotating menu, but they also have the originals, as well.
Their favorite drinks are:
Heiner: Strawberry island — strawberry and coconut purees in a limeade (even more delicious when adding condensed milk, she said)
Heiner: Mangolada — mango, coconut and pineapple purees with condensed milk
Heiner: Sunset — raspberry puree and pomegranate lemonade
Dyer: Huckleberry bliss — huckleberry, raspberry and coconut lemonade
As a way to give back to the Dripping Springs community, and a local organization who helps out its residents, Heiner and Dyer will donate 100% of their sales from the Dripping Springs Farmers Market held Wednesday, Nov. 19, to the local chapter of Helping Hands.
“Last year, my husband lost his job. We had just bought our house, then, he lost his job in tech and it was really stressful. I actually went [to Helping Hands], and I felt a little uncomfortable to go the first time because it's kind of nerve-wracking, but everybody was so kind and helpful and didn't question why I was there,” Heiner explained. “I just feel like it's a powerful organization of people who are just ready to help and I wanted to be able to give back on a bigger scale than my husband and I could do by ourselves or than Jamie and I could do.”
Being able to do this for the locals is also special because the two were a part of their very first market in Dripping Springs on April 2 and the fundraiser — titled The Bee’s Knees Lemon-Aid Fundraiser — is to “mostly give back to the community that helped us get going,” Heiner said. She credited Teri Sanders of Dripping Springs Ranch Park (DSRP) and Charlie Reed and Johnna Krantz of the farmers market staff, who have been a big help with connecting them to people.
“There's a need in our community and we just don't always see it … We give away a lot of lemonades or discount lemonades and we've talked about it. It's probably not the best business practice, [but] people are more important to either of us than the lemonade or the money,” she said. “It's a good indicator of success. Is your business desirable? Do people want to come to it? But I feel like the relationships that we've built through this are so important and so, we just wanted to give back to the community that's really supported us to get off the ground.”
All in all, Dyer and Heiner have loved being able to nurture their friendship through this “incredible opportunity” and “cheer each other on through our business and personal milestones,” the two shared.
Along with being at the Dripping Springs market every week, the booth has also been at Hays City Market Days, rodeos and even the Austin Celtic Festival.
To support Helping Hands, people can attend the Nov. 19 Dripping Springs Farmers Market at DSRP from 3-6 p.m and grab their favorite drink from the booth.
Learn more about The Bee’s Knees Lemonade and how to support Helping Hands, visit www.instagram.com/thebeesknees_lemonade.
