MICHIGAN., (WPBN/WGTU) — Three Presque Isle County brothers are taking their lemonade stand fight to Lansing after learning they would need to pay a recurring permit fee to continue selling at the Rogers City Farmers Market.
For a lot of kids, a lemonade stand is a first step into the world of entrepreneurship.
This holds true for the Mielke family out of Presque Isle County.
But the Mielke kids quickly discovered that sometimes government regulations can be a bit much to navigate and so did their State Rep. Cam Cavitt, so he’s looking to change the law.
“My name is Seth Mielke,” Seth Mielke, one of the lemonade stand operators, said. “My brothers and I have sold at the Roger City Farmers Market for three summers.”
That three-summer streak for the three Mielke brothers hit a bump in the road on Friday last summer.
“One of the market managers brought us papers with the new market rules,” said Seth. “He said I could not sell lemonade without a license from the local health department.”
Still wanting to sell their fresh-squeezed legally…
“We went to the health department office and they said we have to pay $57 every two weeks to sell drinks like lemonade at the farmers market,” said Jonathan Mielke, one of the lemonade stand operators. “This year the fee increased to $64 every two weeks.”
That fee is a big chunk of any profit the young entrepreneurs would make.
“While they could have been selling lemonade, the Mielke Brothers spent their summer lobbying lawmakers for the right to sell lemonade without unnecessary government burdens,” State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-106th District.
The Mielke brothers became crusaders, going to Rep. Cavitt’s hours and making their case.
“I was appalled, so I worked with my staff and MDARD to develop a bill that keeps common sense food safety protections in place, while removing unnecessary barriers that make it harder for young entrepreneurs to learn from the value of hard work,” Cavitt said.
That bill that Cavitt developed would change the lemon stand game for other minors operating on private property, which generate less than $5,000 a year in sales.
“House Bill 6007 is about common sense,” Cavitt said. “It allows children to sell lemonade without having to obtain a license, permit or pay a registration fee. If enacted, Michigan would become the most pro-lemonade stand state in the nation.”
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Pro lemonade turns out is something both sides of the aisle can agree on. Bill 6007 passed the House, so the Miekle young men found themselves testifying before a Senate committee.
You laid out the problem and we’re going to try and work on the solution here.
Cavitt believes this is that solution in a broad stroke, it changes local food service licensing requirements so kids can sell lemonade, earn some money and get a little experience.
“That is what good government should look like for the people,” Cavitt said. “Let’s teach the next generation how to start a business, not how to navigate bureaucracy.”
The hope of supporters is that this gets passed and the Mielke brothers can spend next summer squeezing lemons instead of shaking hands with those in Lansing.
“Kids should be selling lemonade and kindling their entrepreneurial spirit, not worrying about legislation,” Cavitt said.
It’s not just lemonade, though; did you know that technically that free cup of coffee while you wait at a car dealership also might be right on the edge of legal? This bill would better define food service licensing requirements and make that cup of joe or that lemon stand operated by kids legal.
Dining and Cooking