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Young entrepreneurs shut down
A California girl had to shut down her roadside produce stand after officials said the venture violated local zoning ordinances. For the past two years, Katie Lewis, 11, has sold produce grown in her Clayton, Calif., family garden. Open approximately 20 times a year, the stand typically earned $10-$20 a week–money Lewis put in the bank to save for college.
But after two residents complained, Clayton Mayor Gregory Manning informed Lewis–and her 3-year-old sister, Sabrina–they would need to close shop because zoning regulations prohibit commercial activities in the residential area and the stand violated health regulations, which state that food can’t be sold without a permit. (This also makes kids’ lemonade stands illegal, although Manning admitted his office tends to overlook them since they are only open for a day or two.)
Manning said he’s not trying to be the bad guy in this situation, but that he has to consider the residents’ best interests.
“It’s not like we’re the Gestapo going out and closing down fruit stands,” he said.
I think someone needs to lighten up a little and let kids be kids. What’s your take?
back to top35 Comments to “Young entrepreneurs shut down”
Yeah, there are veggie stands everywhere around here in Michigan. California is just crazy – that’s why people pay $700,000 for a 1000 square-foot house.
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Now there’s a way to encourage America’s youth. Nothing like having that one neighbor who ….
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Put me down for “lighten up”.
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BTW I certainly hope she was offering her sister paid sick leave.
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Rules are rules.
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Just tax the business.
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This is California, remember. Now, if she hired illegal aliens to pick the fruit and veggies, it would be perfectly fine to leave the stand open. (In other words, the officials need to lighten up and tell the complaining neighbors they should be glad to have a girl who is working towards her future, rather than joining a gang and stealing from the neighbors.)
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This also makes kids’ lemonade stands illegal, although Manning admitted his office tends to overlook them…
Not in Minnesota…
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“This also makes kids’ lemonade stands illegal, although Manning admitted his office tends to overlook them…
Not in Minnesota…”
So you have to have an ID/License to make 5 cents on lemonade, but you don’t need an ID to vote or open a bank account in Minnesota??? Now that makes sense
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This is a good thing. If kids learn self-reliance at a young age, it’s harder to make them dependent on government.
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“Rules are rules”
Spoken like a true Big Brother Democrat.
The People’s Republic of California never saw a law it didn’t like. The Dems here don’t watchdog our freedoms, they rule by rules.
Thus we live in the prison of our own making. Only we call it by Orwellian names like planned communities goverened by HOAs with little man syndrome.
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Did any of you read the comments at the end of the article? The one I found interesting was when one poster noted that illegals are harvesting food in the fields every day and the government doesn’t do anything about that.
Rules are rules? Well, then why are the illegals harvesting food in the fields every day?
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She probably has the same neighbor who wouldn’t return my soccer ball.
Nice of the reporter to include a price list.
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I live in Minnesota and I seldom go to the nearest town, when I don’t see a lemonade stand set up by one child or another. They are never bothered here and most kids are satisfied after a day or two to find some other fun.
My grandson has made amazing money at doing this. His family was staying a shortwhile in an apartment complex in Tennesee and he set up a stand. The college girls were quite generous it seems.
The other grandmother had him at a wedding a few years before and found he was selling punch to other guests for a quarter. He was still a preschooler. She didn’t mind until she found out he was using the same cup. Needless to say, she had to put a stop to that. Which is a good thing to think about if you frequent unregulated lemonade stands.
He also made money this summer selling used, and pretty much worthless cork in Alaska. He and a friend had set up a stand.
We all laugh that he will be a millionaire someday. My concern is to teach him to use his money wisely and his talent for the Lord.
We should all think of this when we pass laws. There will always be those who cannot use good judgement and those who will push for every jot and tittle to be enforced, even when it is ludicrous.
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No room for common sense.
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The difference between this and the lemonade stand lies in the frequency. At some point — pick your time frame — the very regularity of the stand turns it from a “kid’s project” into something like a business. I have a perennial yard sale down the street that seems to be doing something like this (there are even “store” displays).
And as the produce sales ramp up, as she becomes more of a retailer (that’s what the frequency does) the government is right to remind her that with sales comes responsibility with respect to health. It’s less the certificate than the reminder that gardening also has to be done responsibly: other people are trusting you.
Given this, I think there is a great teachable moment here. It doesn’t have to be the mayor as the big bad wolf.
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You all know the minimum wage in California is $8 an hour?
Did you know volunteers are banned from working on outdoor projects because they take away jobs from union employees? Someone actually filed suit against the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Sierra Club and others who were pulling weeds from conjested streams to project from flooding.
Lawsuit was dropped, but such volunteer jobs are still frowned upon in some corners of our glorious legislature.
So, I’m not surprise a girl not offering health care benefits was stopped from selling produce. What could she have been thinking?
BTW, our local food bank is nearly empty. Our church’s food basket program is being sustained by the overflow from our gardens this summer. Maybe this girl could donate to us?
[sarcasm off]
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#5 SteveG
Whack Jobs are Whack Jobs. California is full of them. But, they are not alone in this. I hear half the county has gone Marxist.
I have a great Lemonade stand story. The last time I was home in AZ it was hot as all get out. My wife and I had been out all Saturday morning running errands and we decided to go by the mail box to get the mail when we got back home. Two kids were selling Lemonade in their front yard as we drove up to the box. I told my wife I was going to get some Lemonade and I asked her if she wanted some. She said no and said I shouldn’t get any either since we were so close to home.
I told her I don’t think that being close to home had anything to do with Lemonade stands. I was parched and went up to the stand wondering if there was a law that said you could only buy lemonade from a stand that wasn’t near your house. They probably do in California.
I asked the kids, cute as buttons, how much the lemonade was and they said 25 cent. I asked how long they had their stand open and they said about 2 hours. I though that was pretty impressive since it was 107 outside and they should be dead and dried out like a lizard by then.
I asked them how business was and they said real bad, I was was their first customer. Now I was really impressed with their determination and perseverance, two great character attribute you really need to have if you want to succeed at anything.
Anyway, I said that the economy was slowing a little but I’d take a glass before the Marxists took over completely and they stole all my quarters. The little boy said ‘I know what you mean, furry friend, my Mom must be one of them, she’s always stealing our change.’ When they went to pour it out of the pitcher, the lemonade was all gone, just a few drops came out. The little boy said, I guess we drank it all. If you wait here, I will make go make some more. Off he went like a shot, leaving his little sister there totally unprotected with a wild llama who looked more than slightly flea bitten and shaggy. It is a nicer neighborhood.
Well, my wife had gotten the mail and was back in the car and I could tell she was a little miffed with this long wait. So, I told the little girl to go up to her, have her roll down the window of the car and ask her if she wanted some free lemonade since she had to wait.
I told her that she would probably say no but it was still the right thing to do from a business perspective. I don’t think she knew a perspective from a purple dinosaur but off she went and sure enough my wife said no thanks. When the little girl came back she said ‘no deal’ when I asked but, I said that’s all right, I would pay her for another one just for her effort.
It takes a little kid a while to make a batch of lemonade but I was having a nice chat with the little girl, about who knows what all, as my wife stewed in the car. Momma Llama rolled the window down and yelled out ‘what’s up?’. I said they had run out of Lemonade and had to make a new batch. She said she wasn’t going to wait any more and that I could walk home. Off she went. She must have been thirsty or something.
But, before 10 minutes had passed, some sort of record if you ask me, the boy came back and I was plenty thirsty by then too. It was pink lemonade, my favorite, and the boy struggled to pour me half a glass, the pitcher was pretty heavy for him. I gave him $5 and said that’s for 2 glasses because I promised his sister I would pay for 2. He said ‘I don’t think I have that much change’ and I said ‘Well, your Marxist Mom probably has it all but, no sweat, you can keep the change.’ Those two looked at each other like they had just been out up for adoption.
Anyway, by the time I got home I had polished off the lemonade. hen I walked in the kitchen and threw away the glass my wife said – ‘you didn’t save any for me?’ I told her I would have normally, but they gave me half a glass to begin with and I had to walk all the way home.
She said she knew she was making a mistake when she didn’t take the free glass of lemonade. She then made her mistake by asking how much it cost. Not that it was any of her business but I said they were having a buy one get one free sale for $5.
She said ‘$5 bucks for a half a glass of crappy lemonade? I can’t leave you alone for a minute.’ I said ‘it was pink lemonade and at least it was made with real sugar but you got that right. This explains why it’ss always your fault these things happen and, in some small way, why I have always worked out of town when ever I could.’ She said ‘how can I miss you if you won’t go away?’ Then the strangest thing happened. It was like a lightening bolt or miracle.
That is exactly the moment when I discovered that dog houses come with several levels of sub-basements under the basement now a days. But, that is another story which has nothing to do with fine pink lemonade. I can’t wait to get home next weekend. Hopefully, I can talk her into making me some pink lemonade or something.
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Rules are rules? Well, then why are the illegals harvesting food in the fields every day?
Because they do it on the cheap. No farmer, republican or democrat, conservative or liberal, is going to rat out his cheap illegal labor.
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As a municipal government guy, I must agree with Harris.
While it’s fun to snark at the mayor and the surrender of our liberties to Big Brother, this sort of local ordinance enforcement is often intended to keep a reign on the sorts of neighbors who run perennial “yard sales.” You know the type: they’ve got a washer/dryer set, or a rusty motorcycle, or lawn equipment out by the curb with a for sale sign. Not just for one Saturday, but until the cardboard sign rots totally away.
I know of a locality that wrote an ordinance limiting residents to two yard sales a year with a $1 permit required for each. It sounds ridiculous, but it did a fair-to-middlin’ job of addressing the problem of those who just don’t seem to understand that maybe nobody wants the nasty old couch they’ve displayed on the front porch for the last month. Ditto for those who run unlicensed used-car lots from the curb.
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I read through the article and some of the comments attached to it, and I have to agree with those who see this as a good opportunity for this girl and her family to work at getting some kind of modification made to the regulations to allow for small-time stands run by kids.
The current regs weren’t written with this situation in mind – but they were written, in black and white, and residents did complain. Maybe those residents were unreasonable in complaining, but since they did, is the mayor supposed to say, I know they’re violating regulations but so what?
Maybe we think some of the regulations are unreasonable – then the answer is to change them, not disregard them for young entrepreneurs (and calling them entrepreneurs acknowledges that they are doing business, and need to learn what doing business entails).
One of the best opportunities I had as a teen was being involved in Junior Achievement, where we (under the tutelage of sponsors from a local corporation) formed a small “company,” sold $1 shares of stock, and manufactured and sold a product (denim tote bags). One of the big things I learned from it was that actually making the product was just one piece of being in business, and the importance of all the administrative aspects that I would rather have ignored at the time (since then I have found that aspect of business to be very interesting and got an MBA).
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kbells – lol
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Adios at #11: I was partly being ironic, because our law-and-order friends suddenly get all bleeding-heart when kids are involved.
Although I will say that health regulations should be taken seriously.
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Well, if our leftist friends had their way, these vicious capitalist law-breakers might have been aborted anyway, and hence would never have been able to thwart the will of the State.
You see, this need never have been a problem at all, if the Left were fully in control.
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Good points, Pauline. I liked your story, Llama.
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Instead of shutting the stand down, the mayor should have stumped for getting the reg modified to allow an exemption for such entrepeneurial youth.
He should have called the union people, who don’t want active volunteers taking jobs away from them, to go around to get petitions to put the matter up the voting public. And then he could have had those same union folk volunteer to inspect said produce for defects and to ensure it was suitable for consumption.
Then he should bought a bag of produce and sampled it right in front of local reporters.
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“Although I will say that health regulations should be taken seriously.”
Health regulations don’t stop salmonella outbreaks. Such regulations are unnecessary and burdensome especially for a situation like this. Civil court could handle any injury.
There are plenty of health regulations I don’t take seriously – like the standards for “daily value” of nutrition. It was based on studies with post menopausal women.
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A little research reveals that there’s an outlet for this girl’s business, the Clayton Farmer’s Market (http://www.ci.clayton.ca.us/).
My first thought was “Big meanies” but 20 weekends a year? That’s nearly half a year when the article tries to make it sound occasional. It IS a business; IMHO she could take it to the Farmer’s Market, double or triple the prices and people would still buy from her in an approved outlet. She might have more expenses, but she’d be able to pay them with a bit higher prices.
Now in the interest of full disclosure: We run a glorified “lemonade stand”, parking lot and campground for five days every fall when the county fair across the street opens. I half suspect that the city might someday start setting up some regulations for all of us in this neighborhood (which I imagine we will fight vigourously). But for now, we’re good to go. The $500 or so we make each year gives our seven kids a rare treat: enjoying an event (the fair) without concern for cost.
Lemonade: $28
Juice for sno-cones: $7
7 cases of Bottled water: $21
Fun family memories: Priceless
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So in the name of letting kids “be kids” we have to permit them to run illegal businesses?
huh?
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Ok i thought about. Practical suggestion:
She should just change her business model from a stand to a door to door operation. She got the cute 3 year old to work the old ladies, she’d probably move a lot more vegetables, and she’d be considerably harder to regulate.
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Now there you go Luke – you’re going to be a capitalist yet!!
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#30 Luke
Don’t you think there is a law about this too? It is Kalifornia. Now if she just brings a religious tract with her…
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The laws regarding health need to be considered. Some people use insecticides which can be harmful.
The people who complained were most likely the neighbors. I’m sure the kids are disappointed, but twenty weekends a year, if you live next door or down the street would not be fair. Clayton, California is a very nice area, its near Walnut Creek. It sounds OK if its not your home, however parking, constant traffic, etc., can sure wear thin after a few hours.
Lemonade stands are far different than what these kids were doing.
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Methinks Clayton Mayor Gregory “grow-some-Rocky Mtn Oysters-and-be-a-Manning shoulda walked up to that veggie stand, spent a 10 spot to show the little capitalists he supports them, and gone home and make a wicked great salsa to snack on.
Imagine how the potential of young Katie growing up to someday complete her desire to become Clayton’s newest entrepeneur is shot down because of this horrible episode. The town would be missing that tax revenue, only because they elected a politically-correct pantywaste for a mayor.
Good thing I live in a real state, like Rhode Island
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Justus, if she’s has real entrepreneurial spirit, this won’t stop the child as she gets older.
This reminds me of some people who want to have garage sales twice a month – Fortunately most home-owner associations don’t allow more than 1 or 2 a year.
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