Kids' Lemonade Stand Shut Down For Lack Of Permit
DENVER (CBS4) – Denver police shut down a lemonade stand put on by a group of brothers over a permitting issue.
But they got an unexpected lesson too.
"Someone complained about our lemonade stand," said Knowles.
Turns out, you need a permit to operate a lemonade stand in Denver similar to hot dog, peanut and sunflower seed vendors outside Coors Field.
The city says it's about health and safety, but in the Knowles' case, competition may also be in play.
The Knowles set up right next to the Denver Arts Festival, where there was a lemonade vendor.
"We had never thought that the other lemonade vendor could feel threatened by our little kid lemonade stand," she said. "I can understand why someone would get upset."
The family sold lemonade 2 for $1 while, she says, the vendor sold it for $7 a glass.
Still, she plans to make lemonade out of lemons by asking the city to waive permits in the future for kids' lemonade stands when another stand isn't nearby.
"In hindsight, we would have never set up where we did, when we did, and we would have just done it another time. Lesson learned," she said.
The lemonade stand wasn't totally a bust. Knowles says they raked in about $200 for charity before police shut them down.
A permit would definitely have cut into profits. It runs $125 for a one-day operation.
[H/T CBS Denver]