There's a saying for what to do when life gives us lemons, but what about government red tape?
Ask sisters Zoey and Andria Green — ages 7 and 8, respectively — who saw their lemonade business shut down over health code and permitting violations in the East Texas town of Overton, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
The girls started their enterprise to treat their dad, an East Texas oil field worker, to a special Father's Day at the Splash Kingdom water park.
A menu was drafted with lemonade for $0.50, kettle corn for $1 or both for $1. Their target was $105.
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Then came Overton Police Chief Clyde Carter, who was forced to shut down the unsanctioned lemonade stand. The reason: The girls were missing a $150 city permit.
"Yeah, we were a little upset," Andria told the Tyler newspaper. "We wanted to make the money to take our dad to Splash Kingdom for Father's Day,"
Sandi Green Evans said her daughters came up with the plan on their own.
"They are both little entrepreneurs," she said. "Their father works in the oil field and is gone a lot, so this is something they wanted to do for him. Something special."
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After some negotiation, Evans convinced Carter to waive the city permit fee. That wasn't enough to cover state regulations on refrigerated beverages, like lemonade, though, so the stand remained shut.
The girls then made an executive decision: Offer free lemonade in exchange for donations.
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Social media exploded with support after the girls' story went public, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported. Radio stations planned to broadcast across the street from where the girls would serve lemonade and a local motorcycle group even volunteered to direct traffic.
All donations gathered at the lemonade stand, open from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, will be given to a local high school sports scholarship fund.
As for the water park, Splash Kingdom decided to offer the family free tickets.
