Thank goodness for over-zealous food inspectors. Without them, we might buy the occasional glass of home-made lemonade from some kid who makes it in their mother's kitchen out of real lemons and sugar. Oh the horror!
This past week, one such lemonade stand was unceremoniously shut down by a couple of food inspectors at a local arts fair in Portland, Oregon. Seems the little girl running the stand didn't take the time to fill out the paperwork and pay the $120 it takes to get a temporary restaurant license like the other vendors in the area.
While most of the vendors who were at the arts fair legally said they didn't mind if little Molly Hopkins sold her lemonade for $.50, Art DeWeiner, a legitimate food vendor selling his own lemonade out of a giant lemon stand appears to be the one who anonymously tipped off the health inspectors.
DeWeiner was heard saying later, "Here I am investing a small fortune on this giant lemon to pull people in. I'm charging $3.50 per glass for my home-squeezed lemonade, and along comes Molly with her innocent little smile, her pitcher of lemonade, and a sign that has "Lemonade: 1 glass $.50 written in crayon with little butterflies and rainbows drawn on it. How the hell can I compete with that?"
Molly's mom says Molly is doing well after her run in with the inspectors. In fact, the City has already decided to file an amendment to the law that requires all food vendors to have licenses. The amendment will allow children to set up small stands without having to pay the $120 and go through the normal licensing procedure.
Molly is already planning a new stand for the upcoming Fall Fandango in September, and this time instead of lemonade, she's going to sell Italian Sausage Sandwiches for only $1.00 apiece.
