A roadside lemonade stand in Georgia, July 1975, also selling squash and cucumbers.A professional vendor in New Orleans.
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[1] 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.[2] It is typically done in the summer season.
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.[3] However, unlike a real business, they benefit from free labor and rent, and may have a lack of expenses.[3]
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.[5] 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.[6]
Enforcement of these laws for lemonade stand operations are extremely rare, but have been known to occur, typically to public outcry.[1] 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.[7]
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.[8]
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.[9] As of that summer, fourteen U.S. states explicitly allow operation of a lemonade stand without a permit.[10]
