Oregon Child Threatened for Selling Lemonade Without a License
Flickr/Cote
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, they say. But what if you make lemonade and you get slapped with a health code violation?
Such is the Dickensian tale of a 7 year-old Portland, Oregon, girl who innocently set up a lemonade stand at a monthly art fair on July 29th. Because she violated the law and didn't have a $120 temporary restaurant license, health inspectors forced her to close, according to The Oregonian.
Julie Murphy decided to try her hand at pitching lemonade after being inspired by the fictional character Olivia the Pig doing the same, her mother, Maria Fife, told the newspaper. Julie was selling Kool-Aid Lemonade -- which does seem a violation of good taste and fair play when one expects lemonade made from, you know, lemons -- for 50 cents a cup when an inspector approached her and asked for her license. When Julie told him she didn't have one, he told her to leave or face a $500 fine. Not easily discouraged, Julie was approached by another inspector later and finally split the scene.
After a public uproar, Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen called Julie on August 5 to apologize, saying that while the county inspectors were doing their job, the rules are meant for professional food service operators, and he himself had had a lemonade stand as a kid.
But really, Julie, Kool-Aid Lemonade? That's just wrong.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
