Anabelle's Lemonade Cafe
Hey guys!
We are looking forward to opening up a one-of-a-kind lemonade cafe, right here in our hometown of Fountain Valley, CA. We've found a fantastic location. (Which is really hard to come by in such a small city.) Now we just need an investor and/or crowdfunding! Check out our pitch below... :)
The Loco Lemon is a gourmet lemonade stand founded by Anabelle Lockwood, a 13 year old entrepreneur. Since its inception in 2016, The Loco Lemon has gained quite the following throughout Orange County, even gaining media attention on several news channels.
Our mission is simple. Provide a high quality delicious product, make as many people happy as possible and keep giving back to the community that has given us so much. :)
After extensive research, we have learned that there just isn't anyone doing what we do at the level we're doing it and our quality and flavors are unmatched! We've taken the traditional kids lemonade stand to new heights and are so ready to expand beyond our mobile service. At only 13 years old, Anabelle has become quite the business owner!
Our local community is encouraging us to open a brick-n-mortar location that they can stop into, pick up bottle orders, and visit with us to see all the cool projects we're up to. There are no other stationary "lemonade cafes" of this kind in Southern California, we want to be the first and be the best!
We are seeking funding to help pay for the kitchen build-out that we require to meet health department requirements, to furnish and remodel the "dining area", and to order new equipment and custom labeled disposables.
A portion of the funding will go towards the start of a fund we are calling "The Lemonade Fund" that will help other kids launch their own small business.
Our concept is super cool and we're so excited about the possibility of bringing it to life in our hometown! We've already identified 2 potential locations that are small enough and affordable. The city is excited to have us and are working with us on all the regulations and such. We're hoping to get funded in the next 30 days so we don't lose out on one of these retail spaces!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our campaign. Please let us know if you have any specific questions. :)
2019 UPDATE Part 2:
After a crazy summer of ups and downs, we have had an opportunity to completely redo our business plan, upgrade the stand, work on a better mobile unit and set some new goals for 2020.
We find ourselves making lemonade at a licensed kitchen in one city, storage in another city, an office in another location, storing the trailer in another, and so on. Can we make it work? Of course! But we know that as a growing business, we have to get our whole operation into one location so that we can not only be more efficient, but we can serve more people are truly grow this business.
2019 UPDATE Part 1:
In April 2019 we found a local dealer who customizes food trailers and we initiated a transaction. Sadly, this dealer turned out to be a scam. False advertising doesn't even begin to describe what this guy does. We were supposed to get the trailer by June 1st so that we would have it for all the summer events. Unfortunately when it arrived in July it was damaged and not at all what was described to us. After a month of arguing with the seller, he finally refunded the money we gave him. Although we still ended up losing $2000 on the deal after paying for storage of the trailer, equipment specifically purchased for the trailer and even a car to tow the trailer. We missed out on so many events that the trailer was pre-booked for. It was a sad and frustrating situation for Anabelle and our family overall. But we persevere and decided to just start fresh next year. :)
2018 UPDATE:
After multiple attempts to meet the requirements and keep the cute traditional (kidlike) lemonade stand, we are now moving towards a lemonade trailer! We have one in mind that will pass health department inspections.
We are asking supporters to support us once again. We greatly appreciate all your help in the past 2 years. :)
If you have experience with food trucks, we'd love to hear from you! She doesn't need anything huge, as it will not be used for cooking. We're looking for something the size of an ice cream truck. Would need to have storage, a sink and coolers.
2018 was a great year for Anabelle, she got to speak at a couple of kid events, catered several private events and donated to charities. We're excited about getting her more mobile in 2019!
2016 UPDATE:
Short Version: Anabelle & The Loco Lemon are going legit and need to raise funds to upgrade her cart and get proper permits and licenses so she can expand her gourmet lemonade stand business. :)
Long Version: It all started on a hot summer day in June... Anabelle spent the night before squeezing lemons and rendering berry sauce. The next day we wheeled out the cart her dad had made her for her 10th birthday, and set up near our home. We were amazed at the amount of people who stopped by to try her lemonade. She was on cloud 9 and super excited to try again the following weekend.
3 days later we got a letter from our HOA telling us it was "a safety hazard" and she was forbidden to set up her stand again in our townhome complex. At first we were seriously bummed... we spent so much time on the stand, and we still had 8 lbs of lemons left.
Anabelle and I decided to post on our FB to see if any of our friends had a home we could setup at. The response was overwhelming! We setup the next weekend at a home, then a farm, then a fireworks stand. Sold out each day!
That's when we knew were were on to something...and The Loco Lemon was born! Anabelle has worked her little tush off this summer, creating a quality gourmet product and building relationships with families and businesses in our community. She has setup her lemonade stand for charities, too. (children's cancer research and homeless services) She squeezes every lemon, and tests every fresh-fruit flavor. Her hard work is finally paying off!
This isn't just another business venture... it's becoming a life lesson for a young ambitious entrepreneur. She will be able to do so much more in the community as well as at charity and school events to help others. She's extremely passionate about her business, and we are so proud of her for creating something that so many others can enjoy!
The people in our little city of Fountain Valley, CA have been nothing short of supportive and encouraging! We are so thankful to be a part of this community. :)
We appreciate you!
#crazyaboutlemons
PS: To those of the naysayers who think a kid should just stick to powdered lemonade, paper cups and a card table... That's just not how she rolls. She got lucky having a dad that can build cool stuff and a mom that is in marketing. Kids can do BIG things if they work hard. We've taught her, if you're going to do something, do it well. That is what sets her apart, and that is why she's got such a big following. She's a visionary and wants to inspire other kids to do big things, too!
2016 Photo Courtesy of Lynn Seeded (Fountain Valley Living Magazine)