The steps of opening an establishment to sell lemonade.
The latest phenomenon of shutting down lemonade stands touched home, because I remember my own sons and their friends, selling and also giving for free lemonade in front of the building.
I remember that I used to joke with them regarding their profit, and reminding them that profit is what remains after paying for the expenses, or that they’re supposed to boil the water and sugar, but it has never crossed my mind that someone might come and shut down their little business, which made them feel in top of the world.
Well, it seems that plenty of little lemonade stands get shut down all over USA, no matter how hard the policemen try to keep one eye closed in front of the children.
The shutting down mostly happens when neighbors complain and it doesn’t matter, it can happen even when the children are selling lemonade to donate to charities.
Here are the steps to be taken in order to have a legal lemonade stand in NY:
- Register as sole proprietor with the County Clerk’s Office
- Apply to IRS for an EIN
- Complete 15 hours Food protection Course
- Then register for the exam, which is one hour long and you must score 70 and up to pass.
- Allow three to five weeks for delivery of Food protection certificate.
- Register for Sales Tax Certificate of Authority
- Apply for a Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit. You must bring all the completed forms to the Consumer Affairs Licensing Center.
- Then, at least 21 days before setting up the lemonade stand, you must arrange for an inspection with the Health Department’s Bureau of Food safety and Community Sanitation. It takes around 21 days to get the appointment.
- Then if you pass, you’re ready to go after you purchase a fire extinguisher from a company certified by the New York Fire Department and set up a contract for waste disposal.
- So the whole process of getting the permit, takes around two whole months.
But if it happens that your kid got a fine, don’t fret much because you can apply for financial assistance: Country Time Legal- Ale, a new initiative sponsored by the Kraft Heinz Company, has allocated $60,000 to help kids around the country pay for stand-related fines.
Kudos to that! But in the meantime, let’s teach the children how to work properly!
Aferdita Delaj
