History Education Store to move to Reed’s Cove Plaza and change name to Bizzy Bee Education Supplies
Published in ‘Have you Heard’ – written by Carrie Rengers
The Wichita Eagle
WICHITA — The History Education Store is expanding with a new store and a new name.
Cheryl Riley’s store currently is in 1,200 square feet at 1719 N. Rock Road behind Havertys. It’s moving to 1,400 square feet with an option to expand next door for a total of 2,800 square feet at Reed’s Cove Plaza near 21st Street North and 127th Street East.
“Basically, it’s going to be a better location,” Riley says. “We’re going to be more visible.”
The store’s new name will be Bizzy Bee Education Supplies so it will be easier for potential customers to understand what the store is.
“People don’t know it’s supplies for parents and teachers,” Riley says. “It’s for anybody, really. Our customer base is really widespread. … It’ll be a better name to help identify ourselves.”
The History Education Store will be on the front of the store as well so current customers will know they can still get supplies there.
Riley formerly owned the Learning Tree in Andover, which closed in 2004. As she and her husband were cleaning out a shed several years ago, she found some replicas of documents, such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, that she used to sell at her store.
“Instead of throwing them away, we decided to go ahead … and put them on Amazon and see if they would actually sell. They started selling very well.”
That grew into a business, which Riley incorporated in 2010. She then opened a storefront in 2012.
Craig Simon and Ken Saville of Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the deal for the new space.
In addition to documents, Riley sells replica coins, pen sets similar to what Thomas Jefferson might have used, busts of presidents and other historical figures and traditional school supplies.
Along with parents and teachers, customers include lawyers, doctors and museums, she says.
“Anybody that likes history.”