Your Kid’s Lemonade Stand May Be Illegal, Here Are the Rules

By Joe Dziemianowicz

So your kids want to run their own summer lemonade stand? Sweet! Peddling the tart and tasty ice-cold drink is a classic way for budding entrepreneurs to earn – and learn valuable lessons about – money.

But before you set up shop, know the lemon(ade) laws in your area for permits and licenses for a temporary food service establishment.

“Even if kids are selling lemonade from their driveway in Queens, that doesn’t automatically make it okay,” says Brooklyn-based business lawyer Michael Schwartz.

“They’re kids, sure. But they’re engaged in a commercial endeavor that may be prohibited in that zoning area,” he adds.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld learned that the hard way. He and his wife and their kids had their lemonade stand at their East Hampton home in Long Island shut down by police officers in 2015. Unlike Seinfeld’s long-running show, it wasn’t about nothing: The town does not allow any form of peddling on its property.

Two years earlier, Queens police shut down a lemonade stand run by grade-schoolers because they didn’t have a permit from the Department of Health.

“Technically pop-up lemonade stands are prohibited, however the Health Department doesn’t routinely sour the dreams of young sidewalk entrepreneurs looking to make an extra buck this summer,” said an NYC spokesperson.

Still, it happens. And New York isn’t the only sourpuss killjoy. A Missouri lawyer put together a Google Map of places across the country where child-run concession stands have been shut down over the past three decades.

The map is dotted with local officials shutting down kid-run concessions.

So whether you live in a big city or a small town, you should consider getting a permit. In NYC they cost $70, so you better hope your friends and neighbors are thirsty.

Or at least weigh the risks of what happens if you don’t – which may be nothing. “Cops do have bigger issues on their hands,” Schwartz says.

“But if a complaint is brought to authorities, they’re not going to just say, ‘Oh, they’re just kids,’” he adds. “Authorities are duty-bound to abide by the rules and enforce the regulation.”

A possible loophole: Give away the lemonade and ask for donations.

“By doing that, you’re avoiding the label of selling of food,” says Schwartz. “It’s the sale of food that brings into play the licensing stuff. I think that might be a way to get around the requirement.”

And remember that if you earn enough dough from lemons, Uncle Sam also gets a slice.

“Declare any income generated by the sale of lemonade in excess of the minimum income required to file a return,” said Schwartz. “That’s $400 of net income if self-employed.”