lemonade stand
{{Short description|A business commonly owned by children}}
{{Other uses}}
{{globalize|date=June 2015}}
File:BayouBoogaloo2010FoodBoothsLemonade.JPG
A lemonade stand is a business that is commonly owned and operated by a child or children, to sell lemonade. The concept has become iconic of youthful summertime American culture{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lemonade-stand-shut-down-by-food-inspectors-county-chair-apologizes/|title=Lemonade Stand Shut Down by Food Inspectors; County Chair Apologizes|last=Hayes|first=Kevin|work=CBS News|access-date=7 April 2012}} to the degree that parodies and variations on the concept exist across media. The term may also be used to refer to stands that sell similar beverages like iced tea.{{cite web|last=Cox|first=Doug|title=Lemonade stand economics|url=http://pryordailytimes.com/editorials/x1437242701/Lemonade-stand-economics|work=Pryor Daily Times|access-date=7 April 2012}} It is typically done in the summer season.
The stand may be a folding table, while the archetypical version is custom-made out of plywood or cardboard boxes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2013/08/14/are-lemonade-stands-good-training-for-entrepreneurs/#3d35c6586e5d|title=Are Lemonade Stands Good Training For Entrepreneurs?|last=Aileron|work=Forbes|access-date=2017-04-20}}{{Cite journal|last1=Capotosto|first1=Rosario|last2=Wicks|first2=Harry|date=August 1979|title=Build the best lemonade stand on your block|journal=Popular Mechanics|volume=152|issue=2|pages=86, 87, 129-131}} A paper sign in front typically advertises the lemonade stand.
Educational benefits
Lemonade stands are often viewed as a way for children to experience business at a young age. The ideas of profit, economic freedom, and teamwork are often attributed to traits lemonade stands can instill. However, unlike a real business, they benefit from free labor and rent, and may have a lack of expenses.
Legality
In some areas, lemonade stands are usually in technical violation of several laws, including operation without a business license and/or permit, lack of adherence to health codes, and sometimes child labor laws.[http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2011/07/15/7090224-police-in-ga-shut-down-girls-lemonade-stand Police in Ga. shut down girls' lemonade stand]. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-07-16. Lemonade stands have been known to spread disease due to poor sanitation, including a 1941 case in Chicago where 12 people were infected with poliovirus virus, five of whom were paralyzed, from a child's lemonade stand.{{cite news |title=Girl's Lemonade Stand Gives Hot Tip on Paralysis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kerrville-times-girls-lemonade-stan/134435116/ |access-date=1 November 2023 |work=The Kerrville Times |date=18 September 1941 |page=8}}
Enforcement of these laws for lemonade stand operations are extremely rare, but have been known to occur, typically to public outcry. In June 2015, police in Overton, Texas told children running a lemonade stand that they would need to apply for a permit and check with the health department before selling perishable food.{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/police-shut-down-girls-lemonade-stand-for-121207241667.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma|title=Police Shut Down Girls' Lemonade Stand for Ridiculous Reason|work=yahoo.com|date=10 June 2015 }}
In 2018, Country Time created Legal-Ade, which pays up to $300 of the legal fees for lemonade stands fined in 2017 or 2018, or for 2018 permits.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/11/us/lemonade-stands-country-time-trnd/index.html|title=For kids getting busted for running lemonade stands without permits, these guys are here to help|last1=Campisi|first1=Jessica|last2=Ahmed|first2=Saeed|work=CNN|date=2018-06-11|access-date=2018-07-05}}
The New York Legislature took up a bill in 2019 that, if passed, will explicitly make lemonade stands operated by minors legal and exempt from most regulations.https://www.wivb.com/news/state/dispute-over-kid-s-lemonade-stand-prompts-legislation-in-ny/1975908435 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503153249/https://www.wivb.com/news/state/dispute-over-kid-s-lemonade-stand-prompts-legislation-in-ny/1975908435 |date=2019-05-03 }}? As of that summer, fourteen U.S. states explicitly allow operation of a lemonade stand without a permit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wivb.com/news/national/country-time-wants-to-legalize-all-lemonade-stands/2086473065|title=Country Time wants to legalize all lemonade stands|date=19 June 2019}}
In literature
The plot of the 2007 children's novel The Lemonade War centers on a rivalry between two siblings' rivalry where they compete with each other to open a more successful lemonade stand business.{{Cite web |title=The Lemonade War (Lemonade War, book 1) by Jacqueline Davies |url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/jacqueline-davies/lemonade-war.htm |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=www.fantasticfiction.com}}