Setting up a lemonade stand in hot summer weather is a distinctly American childhood experience. Most of us remember eagerly stirring up a pitcher of lemonade, grabbing markers to make a sign, and applying to the local city council for a temporary food permit.
Wait, what was that last one?
For tykes in Austin, Texas, paying for a permit is just part of their summer lemonade stand memories. No, this is not a joke.
Austin, a city known for regulations as ridiculous as they are pervasive, requires a $35 to $98 permit to operate a lemonade stand. Want to put that stand on the sidewalk? That will cost you $460.
Better get to squeezing those lemons.
City Council Member Ellen Troxclair is trying to put a stop to this ridiculous practice. She has started "Lemonade Day," a designated day every year where all permit fees are waved.
Troxclair started the movement #FreeTheLemonade on social media, and many are getting on board, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott:
Hopefully, Troxclair's effort helps make life for Austin's budding entrepreneurs a little less sour.
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