A Sour Business

A seven year old entrepreneur is back in business after being shut down by a city inspector.

Earlier this week Julie Murphy and her mother set up a lemonade stand at an arts festival in Portland, Oregon. Julie was selling her kool-aid mixture for just 50 cents a cup when a city inspector asked to see her restaurant license. When Julie’s mother said they didn’t have one, the city inspector said they had to shut down the stand or face a $500 fine. And despite support from other vendors and their loyal customers Julie closed down her lemonade stand and went home in tears. But her business venture might not end on a sour note.

Jeff Cogen, a county official has gotten involved and says that while the county inspector was just following the rules he should have given Julie and her mom a break. Cogen says a lemonade stand is an iconic American kid thing to do and he doesn’t want to shut that down. Cogen also apologized to Julie and her mom who haven’t said whether or not business will resume. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade just make sure you have a permit first.