Texas Police Put The Squeeze On Little Girls’ Lemonade Stand And Shuts It Down After Demanding Permit


Goodbye summer entrepreneurship.

Two business-minded sisters in Overton, Texas, decided to open a lemonade stand outside their house so they could buy their dad a special Father’s Day gift.

However, shortly after opening, the kids’ stall was shut down by the police for operating without a permit.

“We were trying to raise some money to take our dad to Splash Kingdom,” Andria Green, 8, told KLTV.

“We had kettle corn and lemonade. The lemonade was for 50 cents and the kettle corn was a dollar, but if you got both it was a dollar,” her 7-year-old sister, Zoey added.

They had initially planned to do a paper route to get the cash for their dad’s gift, but later decided to run a lemonade stand to get the money quicker.

Except the local authorities would have none of that. And when they stumbled across the little girls’ summer business venture, they demanded the legal paperwork.

“A code enforcement officer and the chief, she called me to the side and said we needed a permit,” Andria and Zoey’s mother, Sandi Green, stated.

Adding that she was shocked by the absurdity of it — “I think that’s ridiculous. I think they’re 7 and 8 and they’re just trying to make money for their own cause.”

The officers eventually agreed to waive the $150 penalty charge, but the lemonade stand had to be closed.

“It is a lemonade stand but they also have a permit that they are required to get,” said Police Chief Clyde Carter.

Texas House Bill 970 bans the sale of food, which requires time or temperature control to prevent spoilage, sadly including lemonade.

“We have to follow by the state health guidelines. They have to have a permit if they’re going to do the lemonade stands,” said Carter.

Seemingly not just entrepreneurial, but defiant, the Green sisters plan on re-opening their lemonade stand this Saturday, albeit only donations will be accepted this time.

[Image via KLTV]

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